Withdraw DCs and SPs from election activities: 20-party

Staff Correspondent: BNP led 20-party alliance has demanded withdrawal of Deputy Commissioner (DC) and Superintendent of Police (SP), who are biased and controversial, from election activities and transfer for the rest.

Spokesperson of the alliance, also Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Col (Retd) Oli Ahmed, told this to the reporters on Sunday afternoon, emerging from a meeting with the Election Commission (EC) at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon.

LDP president said, “We placed our demand to EC not to appoint personal secretaries (PSs) and assistant personal secretaries (APSs) of ministers, state ministers and deputy ministers as assistant returning officers.”

He said, “In the past, during the tenures of caretaker governments, steps were taken based on demands by political parties, the current EC should take steps in similar manner.”

“We do not want punishment for the controversial officials, we want just transfer of them. It is urgent to transfer officials from a district to another for the sake of holding a fair election. Level-playing has yet not been ensured for all political parties. Police are still arresting leaders and activists. EC directives have yet not been reflected in the field level,” he added.

In reply to a query, he told reporters that EC could not prove till today that they are playing neutral role. We know there are limitations for them. But all the commissioners agreed that the 13 proposals we placed to them are conducive to hold a fair election.


risingbd/Dhaka/November 25, 2018/Hasibul/AKA