Dhaka: Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda on Saturday said police are not arresting anyone without any reason going beyond the directives of the Election Commission as they are now under his commission’s control.  

‘Police obey our directives. They arrest no one without any reason going beyond our directives,’ he told reporters replying to a question at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city, reports the UNB.

The CEC made the remarks after the inaugural session of the EC’s three-day briefing arranged for giving its directives to executive magistrates for preventing the violation of the electoral code of conduct in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The first day’s briefing started at 10am with the participation of executive magistrates deployed in election duty in 18 districts.

 ‘The Commission has given directives to the police. The police have also made commitments to us. They’re working accordingly,’ he said.

In reply to a question, Nurul Huda said the government does not give any directive to the Commission over the election. ‘There’s no directive from the government. Rather, our election-related directives are now visible there in the field,’ he said.

The CEC said now the level-playing field prevails in the country.

At the inaugural session, the CEC and four election commissioners — Mahbub Talukder, Shahadat Hossain, Rafiqul Islam and Kabita Khanom — were present.

The Commission in the three-day briefing will give directives to the executive magistrates over how to conduct drives against and punishing the violation of electoral code of conduct in the 11th national election slated for December 30.

Magistrates from Dhaka, Gopalganj, Cumilla, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Narayanganj, Tangail, Faridpur, Manikganj, Kishoreganj, Sherpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Mymensingh, Netrakona, Jamalpur, Shariatpur and Narsingdi are there in the first day briefing.

On November 12, the EC directed the Public Administration Ministry to appoint executive magistrates at the field level to check the violation of the electoral code of conduct.

The EC asked the ministry to appoint one executive magistrate for every upazila, one for three to four wards of city corporations, one to two magistrates for each district sadar municipality and one magistrate for three to four upazilas of the Chattogram Hill Tracts.

The Commission asked the ministry to keep the magistrates engaged in the election duty till the next day of election (December 31).

Besides, the Commission will deploy more executive magistrates and judicial magistrates on large scale a few days before the general election.