Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed has said there is no reason for concern so far ahead of the by-election in the Thakurgaon-1 constituency.
He made the comment while speaking to journalists at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday.
Akhtar said a monitoring cell had been set up at the EC headquarters to oversee the overall election situation, including conditions at polling centres, law and order, and election management.
Voting in the by-election will take place from 8am to 4pm on Thursday, he said, adding that similar monitoring arrangements had been used in previous elections, including the February 12 election and subsequent by-elections in Sherpur and Bogra.
The EC secretary said the monitoring system would focus primarily on law and order and conditions at polling centres, with coordination among the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the Special Reserve Police (SRP) and regular police.
Surveillance will involve body cameras worn by BGB and police personnel, as well as drones operated by the BGB. The EC will monitor the situation in real time, he said.
He added that the commission was also reviewing reports published by media outlets and news portals and verifying the information to determine whether further action was necessary.
“Every news report contains some information that can be useful to us. It is our responsibility to assess that information and take necessary action accordingly,” he said.
Asked about various allegations concerning the election and protests based on those allegations, Akhtar said the commission would be able to assess the accuracy of the claims after Thursday's vote.
“We will have evidence tomorrow to determine what was correct and what was flawed. So we will have to wait until tomorrow,” he said.
Asked whether voters from all walks of life would be able to cast their ballots without hindrance, Akhtar said the necessary environment was in place.
He said he had spoken with the Thakurgaon superintendent of police, the deputy commissioner and the district election officer serving as the returning officer, and that regular communication was being maintained with them.
“We have not found any reason for concern so far, and hopefully we will not,” he said.
The Thakurgaon-1 seat fell vacant after Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected president on August 20.
The by-election has been arranged to fill the vacant seat, with the winner set to become the constituency's new member of parliament.
The constituency has 515,853 registered voters, including 257,219 men, 258,630 women and four third-gender voters.
A total of 287 voters have registered to cast their ballots by postal vote, including 249 men and 38 women.
