Dhaka, Oct. 29 -- Bangladesh's interim government, led by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, has decided to exclude administrative and police officials who were involved in the last three elections from field-level postings during the upcoming February polls, in what officials described as a sweeping bid to ensure neutrality and public trust.

At a high-level meeting chaired by Yunus on Wednesday, the government also approved the deployment of an unprecedented 92,500 members of the armed forces across the country - 90,000 from the army and the remainder from the navy - to bolster security and maintain order before, during and after the vote.

Each upazila will have a dedicated army company, with joint operations centres coordinating ...