Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division Lieutenant General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq, held a closed-door meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday.
After the half an hour-long meeting, the CEC told the media that the commission in its next meeting on Friday would decide on the deployment of the army to help conduct the 10th parliamentary polls.
Before the meeting, the CEC and the PSO also held an hour-long meeting with the EC secretary Muhammed Sadique.
Following the meetings, however, PSO Shafiul Huq did not reveal the exact content of the discussion.
The commission has proposed the deployment of the army as an “aid to the civil power,” suggesting stationing a battalion at each district-headquarters as a striking force, and two to four platoons at upazila towns, EC sources said.
However, it said the army should not play any role inside the polling centres or vote counting rooms.
As there was no need to hold parliamentary polls in 154 constituencies, elections for the rest of the 146 seats would be held on January 5.
On December 10, the armed forces division sent a letter to the commission seeking around Tk27 crore for maintaining the law and order situation during the elections.
On November 28, the EC held a meeting with high officials of several law enforcment agencies and was set to hold meetings with the returning officers and chief of law enforcement agencies at 3pm tomorrow.
