The Bangladesh government has deployed more than 800,000 security personnel to make sure that the day of general election remains peaceful and allows people to cast their vote for the right candidate and choose the next prime minister of Bangladesh (“Over 800,000 security personnel to safeguard Bangladesh polls,” Jan.6, Gulf Today website).

According to the report, Bangladesh holds a general election on Sunday, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set to win a fourth straight term and the fifth overall for her Awami League-led alliance, despite an economy that required an international bailout last year. The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party of the ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia is boycotting the poll after Hasina denied its demand to resign and let a caretaker government run the election.

The government’s decision to conduct peaceful general elections is highly laudable. It’s the government’s responsibility to make sure that the general elections will be fair and free.

Abdul Shakoor,
By email