Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda asked on Thursday the law enforcers to find out whether there was any conspiracy of the third party centring the upcoming election.
He also urged them to remain vigil so that hoodlums cannot snatch voters' right to vote.
"We must not forget the violent incidents that happened during the 2014 national election," he said while speaking at a coordination meeting on law and order situation across the country ahead of the 11th parliamentary election slated for December 30.
He directed the chiefs of all law enforcement and intelligence agencies including the army to prevent recurrence of such incidents and to find out whether these incidents are the signs of emergence of the third party.
During the election in 2014, he said, a number of people including the members of law enforcement agencies were killed despite the presence of police and other officials on the field.
The CEC asked them to take necessary measures so that voters can cast their vote and ensure their safety and security.
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He said two people were killed in recent violence soon after the distribution of electoral symbols.
"Whether these incidents were simply political or the sign of bringing back the violent incidents that took place in 2014" the CEC questioned.
Regarding the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the polls, Mr Huda said, "We (EC) want to use EVMs in some constituencies because we cannot let the voters' decisions to the hands of hoodlums. We must protect the voters from the snatchers of ballot boxes during polls".
He said EVM is an alternative method which can help the voters cast their votes by preventing fake ones.
If EVMs are used in all centres, it will be possible to reduce 80 per cent irregularities in voting, he added.
"We are all set to hold the upcoming polls peacefully," he said and ordered the presiding officers, police, Rab and BGB and intelligence agencies to perform their duties properly.
"I call upon all (presiding officers, police, Rab and BGB and intelligence agencies) to play a neutral role through coordination each other for holding the national election smoothly," he said.
He ordered the law enforcers to arrest the terrorists and recover unlicensed firearms to ensure an atmosphere conducive to a free and fair election.
He also asked the law enforcers to make a list of terrorists before the polls.
Election Commissioner Md Rafiqul Islam laid emphasis on safety and security of the voters during the polls.
He said the EC will soon take decisions on the issues which came up for discussion in the meeting.
Election Commissioner Kabita Khanam laid emphasis on coordination among the government agencies.
She suggested that the law enforcers implement the laws sagaciously during polls time.
The heads of the law enforcement agencies suggested that the EC strictly monitor the social media in order to prevent rumour, monitor local and international polls observers and slow internet speed (from 4-G to 2-G) so that no vested quarter can spread rumours by using internet during the election.
They also proposed taking steps for stopping transactions of mobile banking just three days before the election as they believe that through this channel, a huge amount of money (black money) is likely to be sent to the country during the upcoming polls.
Besides, the police made a set of recommendations including imposition of strict restrictions on access of media persons (journalists) to the polling centres to take any snap or video recording, stop live telecast from the polling centres and put the strict surveillance on Rohingyas during election.
Regarding the deployment of army in the election, a section of law enforcers suggested raising the duration of the army's presence on the field. Earlier, the EC decided to deploy army from December 24 to January 01.
But some other law enforcers recommended reducing the duration of army's presence and deploying BGB much earlier.
The EC will issue a circular in this regard soon, an official who attended the meeting told the FE.
The CEC will visit Rangamati and Chattogram to exchange views with the candidates and the voters on December 17 and 18 respectively.
Election commissioners Brig Gen (retd) Md Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, Mahbub Talukder and secretary of EC Helaluddin Ahmad, secretary (Public security) of the ministry of home affairs Mostafa Kamal Uddin, principal staff officer of armed forces division Lieutenant General Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman, Inspector General of Police Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary, director general (DG) of Ansar and VDP Major General Kazi Sharif Kaikobad, DG of Border Guard Bangladesh Major General Md Shafinul Islam, director of NSI Major General TM Zubair and DG of DGFI Md Saiful Abedin, director of Coast Guard Rear Admiral AMMM Aurangzeb Chowdhury, DG of Rab Benzir Ahmed, and commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Asaduzzaman, among others, were present.
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