The Election Commission is reviewing a proposal for the deployment of law enforcers for eight days during the February national election.

Members of law enforcing agencies yesterday placed the proposal before the commission during a meeting at the latter's headquarters in the capital. As per the proposal, around 1.5 lakh police personnel, 90,000 to 1 lakh members of the armed forces, and 5.5 to 6 lakh Ansar members would be on duty across the country to maintain law and order during the polls.

EC officials said the proposal is currently under scrutiny and the commission will finalise the deployment plan after assessing security requirements in coordination with the home ministry and other relevant authorities.

EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed shared this information with journalists, following a preparatory meeting on law and order at the EC headquarters yesterday morning.

"The Election Commission initially planned to deploy law enforcers for five days during the election. At today's [Monday's] meeting, a proposal was made to extend the period to eight days. This will be reviewed," he said, adding that the law enforcers would be stationed three days before the polls.

The secretary said discussions were held on preventing the misuse of AI, banning the use of drones, and equipping police with bodycams.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin chaired the meeting that was attended by all four election commissioners, the home secretary, the EC secretary, and representatives from law enforcement agencies.

The EC secretary mentioned that no specific directives were given to the law enforcement agencies.

The 13th national election is expected to take place in the first half of February, before Ramadan, while the election schedule is likely to be announced in the first half of December.

During the 12th parliamentary polls, members of the armed forces were initially deployed for eight days, but they were kept on the ground for five extra days. Law enforcers were deployed for 10 days during the 11th national polls.

EC Secretary Akhtar said yesterday's discussions focused on polling centres, election officials, security at the polling stations, number of centres, and the development of a coordinated action plan for nationwide law and order during the polls.

The meeting also discussed controlling illegal firearms and ensuring safety of foreign journalists and observers.

In response to a question about whether members of the armed forces would be deployed with civil magistracy powers, he said, "This is under discussion. 'In aid of civil power' is included, but we will ensure that this does not conflict with the Representation of the People Order (RPO)."

Regarding law and order, the EC secretary said, "The election period spans from the announcement of the schedule to the publication of the gazette. Our discussions focused within that timeframe. There's currently no scope for discussion beyond that, nor did we. I did not notice any concern among them [law enforcers]. Rather, I saw a commitment to conducting a good election. They are providing us with the highest level of support they can."

The secretary added that the environment is suitable for holding the polls.