Follow code of conduct

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda here yesterday urged the candidates to carry on electioneering maintaining the electoral code of conduct to hold a free and fair election.
Huda made the remarks while addressing a view exchange meeting with candidates for the Chittagong City Corporation polls at the Muslim Institute auditorium.
All the mayoral candidates including ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury, M Manjur Alam, Solaiman Alam Sheth and ward councillor candidates participated the meeting.
To ensure law and order ahead of the election, two companies of BDR would patrol the city from June 9 to June 18 while six companies of army would be kept as reserved force from June 14 to June 18, who would go into action in response to the call of magistrates, said the CEC.
Forty-one teams comprising police and Rapid Action Battalion members have already been deployed since Thursday.
Twenty police personnel would be kept on duty in each polling centre and twenty-one in each risky centre on the polling day, CEC Huda said.
Mobile courts each led by one executive magistrate are being deployed to each of the 41 wards and twelve judicial magistrates being engaged in six electoral thana areas under CCC, he said.
Besides, EC would deploy its own 41 vigilance teams, one in each ward, in a bid to ensure smooth holding of the election, said the CEC.
In the meeting, he also said that no non-resident and outsider would be allowed to stay in Chittagong City Corporation areas after June 14 to avoid any sort of violence in the polls.
To ensure neutral and impartial role of the election officials, names of all presiding officers, assistant presiding officers and polling officers appointed for holding the election would be kept on display at the election office on Saturday (today) and Sunday for the candidates.
If any candidate has any specific allegation against any presiding officer, he/she would be able to file complaint, the CEC said adding that if any complaint is proved against any officer, he/she would be changed.
CEC Huda expressed satisfaction over the prevailing electoral atmosphere and sought cooperation from all to maintain it.
“It is my long-cherished dream of making an example by holding the CCC poll and keeping it above all controversy,” he said.
Narrating some new electoral rules, the CEC said the candidates would have to submit the list of polling agents to the returning officer 24 hours before the poll.
Divisional Commissioner Sirajul Hoque Khan, Returning Officer Jesmin Tuli, Deputy Commissioner Fayez Ahmed and Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Moniruzzaman, among others, were present in the meeting.
The CEC also held a meeting with the officials of police, district administration, executive magistrates and EC officials at Chittagong Circuit House in the afternoon.
He said that no irregularities and negligence of duty would be tolerated during the polls.
CEC Huda also directed the officials of all the departments to work in a coordinated way for holding the election in a free and fair manner.