No concern over law and order ahead of polls: EC
The Election Commission (EC) has said it has no concerns regarding the law and order situation ahead of the national election.
The comment came after Swedish Ambassador to Bangladesh Nicolas Weeks met Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka on Tuesday afternoon (20 January).
The meeting focused on overall election preparations, including security arrangements, appeal procedures, and measures to counter misinformation and the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI).
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Speaking to reporters after the meeting, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the Swedish ambassador and the First Secretary (Human Rights, Democracy and Gender Equality) sought updates on the overall election situation and the commission's preparations and procedures.
"We briefed them on the Election Commission's overall preparations, party registration, how appeals are handled, law enforcement deployment plans, and how misinformation and disinformation on social media are being addressed," he said.
According to the EC secretary, the visiting delegation also inquired whether the commission had any concerns regarding law and order during the election.
"We informed them about our law enforcement deployment plan. So far, we have no concerns," he added.
He said a coordination cell is working under the EC to prevent the misuse of AI and tackle misinformation and disinformation during the election period.
The EC secretary also said the ambassador and his delegation expressed satisfaction with the commission's progress and asked whether the EC would require any assistance from them for the election.
Parliamentary elections and a referendum will be held on 12 February. A total of around 2,500 aspirants submitted nomination papers, of which more than 2,250 candidates were found valid. Tuesday was the final day for the withdrawal of candidacy, and returning officers will allocate election symbols on Wednesday.
The Election Commission will hold a press briefing on 25 January, the secretary added.
