Joint forces operations to continue ahead of election and referendum: EC

Joint forces operations will continue to maintain law and order ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election and the referendum, Election Commissioner Abul Fazl Md Sanullah has said.

He made the remarks during a briefing at the Election Commission auditorium in Agargaon on Sunday, December 21.

“The operations are ongoing and updates will be given regularly through press briefings. Around 2,000 people are being arrested every day,” Sanullah said.

Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin chaired a meeting with various law enforcement and security agencies to review the overall law and order situation ahead of the election and referendum. The meeting began at 2:50 pm at the Election Commission building.

Those present included the principal secretary to the chief adviser, the senior secretary of the home ministry, the chiefs of the three services or their representatives, the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division, the inspector general of police, and senior officials from NSI, DGFI, Coast Guard, BGB, RAB, Ansar and VDP, as well as the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner.

The meeting was also attended by election commissioners Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Tahmida Ahmed, Md Anwarul Islam Sarkar and Abul Fazl Md Sanullah, along with Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

This was the Election Commission’s first meeting with the three service chiefs since the election schedule was announced. Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan and Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan also met the chief election commissioner earlier in the day.