Troops to be deployed in next polls: CEC Huda

Chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Wednesday said troops will be deployed during the upcoming general elections for December next, but not during the city polls, reports UNB.

"I think, troops will be deployed during the general elections, but we've no plan to deploy army during city polls," CEC Huda said while talking to reporters after inaugurating a training workshop on electronic voting machine (EVM) at the Circuit House in Barishal.

Replying to a query about opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) participation in the national election, Nurul Huda said the election commission is unable to take any separate initiative for any specific party.

"We urge all the parties to participate in the polls so that it could be competitive one, we hope BNP would participate in the election but have no option to take any special initiative for any party," he said.

"The allegation of vote rigging and massive irregularities will be eliminated after introduction of EVM in all voting centres. To avoid irregularities in the upcoming national election, EVM should be introduced," he said.

"In Khulna city polls, voting in three centres was suspended due to irregularities. We're also investigating the allegations of irregularities in some other centres," he said.