The government has set up a monitoring cell to keep watch over the law and order situation surrounding the four city corporation polls scheduled for June 15.
Starting next Friday night, the cell will remain open until the announcement of poll results in Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal.
The Ministry of Home Affairs will closely monitor the situation until polling is finished and results are announced, Kamal Uddin Ahmed, additional secretary of the ministry, told the Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the public administration ministry on Wednesday appointed 51 administration cadre officers as executive magistrates to control the law and order situation in the four city corporation areas. Of them, 12 magistrates will work for Rajshahi, 15 for Khulna, 12 for Sylhet and 12 for Barisal.
The magistrates have been given the power to execute the Mobile Court Act, 2009, to operate mobile courts and give short term punishments for violating election rules, and to control offenses related to the elections. They will begin their work from Friday, and continue until the declaration of election results.
Kamal said the monitoring cell would work under the leadership of the additional secretary of the political wing under the home ministry. Kamal is now serving as the additional secretary of that wing.
“The ministry has already deployed sufficient law and order forces, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB) forces for all four city corporations, as per the direction of the Election Commission. They are working with all efforts to control the law and order situation,” he said.
“The monitoring cell will supervise their activities and overall law order situation,” Kamal said. “It will arrange additional forces if needed to control any subversive activities in those areas. Additional forces will also be kept prepared as striking forces.”
“The forces will work there until the counting of votes has ended. The monitoring cell will be kept active throughout the whole electoral process,” Kamal said.
