Staff Reporter :
The BNP leaders on Tuesday demanded army deployment in Khulna and Gazipur city corporation polls to regain trust of voters.
They made this demand while meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda and other election commissioners at Nirbachon Bhaban in the morning. “After the one-sided national polls on January 5, 2014, the voters lost their trust upon the Election Commission. In such a circumstance, it is very important to deploy army in the upcoming city corporation polls to regain the voters trust,” BNP Standing Committee Member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said this to a group of journalists after meeting with the CEC.
A six-member BNP delegation placed the demands to the CEC, led by Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain.
The elections of Khulna and Gazipur city corporations are scheduled for May 15.
Dr. Mosharraf said that they demanded deployment of army seven days before the polls.
The party leaders also opposed to introduce electronic voting machine (EVM) in the city polls.
Dr. Mosharraf said the EVM system is not going well in those countries where it was introduced.
The BNP also demanded immediate withdrawal of Gazipur Police Super Harun-ur-Rashid and other partisan officials in the police and administration to ensure a proper atmosphere for the city polls.
Dr. Mosharraf said the Election Commission assured them that they would consider BNP’s logical demands.
The BNP delegation also raised question over the EC’s move to form a coordination committee for the two city polls accommodated with the Divisional Commissioners.
The BNP team questioned the EC that under which sections of laws they formed such committee as there is no pre-examples of such committee.
The other members of the BNP delegation were party Stranding Committee Members Dr. Abdul Moyeen Khan, Nazrul Islam Khan and Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and Vice-Chairman Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf.
