Troops Patrol Streets As Bangladesh Gears Up For General Election
Troops were patrolling the streets of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka after the Election Commission authorised the deployment of over 12,000 soldiers to assist the civil administration in ensuring security ahead of the parliamentary polls yesterday. Military vehicles and armed soldiers were visible at strategically important places in Dhaka and elsewhere in the county last Friday. In Dhaka, they were seen mainly checking vehicles at key points of the capital city. Elsewhere in the country army teams reportedly searched buses, cars and pedestrians.
As part of an unprecedented series of security measures to be in force in Bangladesh during Sunday’s general elections, army troops were deployed in 389 out of about 500 sub-districts on Monday morning. They will stay until January 2. Nearly 1 million security personnel including army, police and the Border Guard Bangladesh have already been deployed to ensure free and fair elections. Authorities have already imposed a ban on all types of motor vehicles for the polling day.
Around 1861 candidates are contesting in the country’s upcoming general election for 299 constituencies out of 300.
Election at a constituency election has been postponed by the commission due to the death of a candidate.
Some 100 million registered voters will elect 299 representatives to parliament by casting their votes in around 40,000 polling stations nationwide.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seeking a third five-year term in the Muslim-majority South Asian nation of about 165 million people.