Decision on deploying army after polls schedule: EC

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Bangla Tribune Report
Published : 21:56, Oct 15, 2018 | Updated : 22:31, Oct 15, 2018

Election Commission Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed briefs the media at the EC office in Dhaka on Monday (Oct 15).The Election Commission (EC) says it will decide whether to deploy troops in the 11th Parliamentary Election after announcing the schedule for the polls.
“Decision on army deployment will be taken after announcing the polls schedule,” EC Secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said on Monday (Oct 15).
Speaking to the media after the commission’s meeting, Ahmed said, “We have sent the electoral roll to the field administration for verification and asked for their feedback by Oct 30.
“So, the voter list can be finalised before the announcement of the schedule,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukdar walked out of the meeting complaining that he was not allowed to exercise his freedom of speech.
Talukdar wanted to speak about the five-point proposal, including the issue of army deployment he put forward on Oct 8 but was not given an opportunity to do so, according to EC officials.
The commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Khan Md Nurul Huda held the meeting on preparations ahead of next general election.
Candidates for the general election will be able to file their nomination papers online, said EC Secretary Ahmed.
“The EC has finished the work of demarcation of 300 parliamentary seats. We have finalized 40,199 polling booths and the concerned returning officers would publish the final list of polling centres after the declaration of election schedule,” Ahmed added. The EC secretary further said Tk 7 billion has been allocated for holding the next general election, adding, the EC already approved the sector-based expenditure.
“There would be preparation for using EVMs too. We already have sent a proposal to the government to amend law in this regard. EVMs can be used if the law is amended. We would also hold EVM Fair in nine places across the country on Oct 27 and in Dhaka on the third week of November to make the EVM popular,” he added.

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