The Election Commission (EC) is planning to deploy law enforcement agencies in the field for 15 days after the upcoming general election, citing concerns about post-election violence.
In general, law enforcement agencies are deployed for one or two days after the voting is completed in a national parliamentary election. However, this time, the EC is planning to have law enforcement agencies play an active role in the field for 15 days after the voting, “subject to need.” The EC is making such a plan due to concerns about post-election violence.
The EC is preparing a roadmap or checklist of what needs to be done and when it needs to be done from November onwards in preparation for the 12th National Parliament Election. The roadmap mentions the need to deploy law enforcement agencies for up to 15 days after the election, if necessary. The EC has confirmed this information through multiple sources.
In general, police, RAB, BGB, Coast Guard, and Ansar forces are deployed to maintain law and order in national parliamentary elections. In addition, the armed forces work as a “strike force” during the election. Police serve for a total of four days, two days before and two days after the voting. Ansar members serve for a total of five days, combined before and after the voting. Members of other forces also serve for three to four days in the election.
According to EC sources, this time, law enforcement agencies will also play a major role two days before the election, on the day of the election, and two days after the election. However, special arrangements will be made to ensure that they continue to serve in the election areas for 15 days after the election in the interest of maintaining peace and order in the election areas. The EC will issue instructions to the police and administration in time on this matter. The EC will keep an eye on the law-and-order situation for 15 days after the election. However, it is not that law enforcement personnel will be deployed everywhere. This special arrangement will be made in places where there is a possibility of the situation deteriorating.
The EC has been saying that the voting will be held in the 12th National Parliament Election in the last week of December or the first week of January. There will be a little more than 42,000 polling stations in the 300 seats of the parliament. More than 6 lakh members of various forces were deployed to maintain law and order in the last election. The armed forces were the “strike force”. According to EC sources, more members will be deployed to maintain law and order in the upcoming election than in the last election. One of the main reasons for this is that there will be more polling stations in the upcoming election than in the last election.
The date of the announcement of the national election schedule has not been finalized. It has been decided which work will be done within how many days of the announcement of the schedule. According to the EC’s work plan, from October 31 to the first week of November, there will be a training program for the trainers who will train the polling officials. The work of the software for online submission of nomination papers will be completed within the first week of November. The next day after the announcement of the election schedule, an order will be issued to appoint executive magistrates to keep the law-and-order situation peaceful. Executive magistrates will mainly look after issues such as the candidates’ demonstrations (showdown), violation of the candidates’ code of conduct during the submission of nomination papers (especially in the two days before the last date of submission of nomination papers), and the selection of nomination papers.
After the deadline for withdrawal of candidatures, the EC will hold a meeting on law and order with the officials of various law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies. Such a meeting is held before every election. Basically, an assessment of the law-and-order situation is made there. The EC also plans to hold another such meeting before the election.
