The Election Commission is planning to deploy its own officials as election observers in the upcoming upazila parishad elections to detect violations of the electoral code of conduct during the polls.
The commission will present a plan about deploying its own officials at the meeting with returning officers, police superintendents and the heads of law enforcement agencies, a senior EC official said yesterday.
The commission will deploy its own observers from the beginning of election campaigning till the elections, as a large number of candidates from the ruling party and other political parties are contesting in the polls, he said.
The commission will also form special monitoring cells for informing the commission immediately about any type of violation of electoral laws by the candidates, the official said.
The EC has taken the plan to deploy its own officials as observers in the polls as ruling party or other political party candidates might influence the local body polls.
“The EC’s own observers will observe the polls secretly. If any irregularities or violation of electoral laws by the candidates are noticed, they will inform the special monitoring cells to provide information to the commission,” the senior official said.
The commission announced the polls schedule of upazila parishad polls in two phases. Election to 98 upazilas will be held on February 19 in the first phase and polls to 117 upazila parishads will be held on February 27.
A record number of candidates are contesting in the three posts of the upazila parishads. Candidates of all political parties including Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami are contesting.
An election commissioner yesterday told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission would deploy its own observers in the upazila parishad polls. But the commission is yet to take final decision in this regard, he also said.