Election will be held in 300 constituencies across Bangladesh, with unprecedented security measures including drones and police dog squads deployed, Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to the chief adviser, said on Wednesday.
A high-level meeting on the upcoming elections was held under the chief adviser’s chairmanship to review preparations. According to the Election Commission (EC), Wednesday marked the date for allocation of election symbols, and printing of postal ballots will begin at midnight. Full-scale distribution will start Thursday morning, with the EC deciding when ballots will be sent.
Shafiqul said, for the first time, 59 returning officers will oversee the elections. Regional election officers have been appointed for Dhaka, Chattogram, and Khulna. In addition, 64 district administrators will serve as returning officers, supported by two divisional commissioners. A total of 598 assistant returning officers have been appointed, including 495 Upazila Executive Officers, 68 Upazila or police station election officers, 11 regional executive officers, five additional district administrators at the district commissioners’ offices, four cantonment executive officers, and four additional district administrators at revenue district offices.
A total of 1,842 candidates has been validly nominated, representing 51 political parties. There are 42,779 polling centers and 247,492 polling booths nationwide. The total number of registered voters is 127,711,793, including 64,825,361 men, 62,885,200 women, and 1,232 from the hijra community.
Ahead of the election, 657 judicial magistrates have been proposed to serve across the 300 constituencies from February 8 to 14, covering four days before voting, election day, and two days after voting. In addition, 1,047 executive magistrates have been appointed. Each polling center will have at least 15 law enforcement personnel, including regular and irregular forces. General centers will have 15–17 personnel, while high-security centers will have 18–19 personnel.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has identified several vulnerable centers, and measures will be taken accordingly. Bangladesh Police will deploy 25,500 body cameras at the most vulnerable polling centers. Cameras have already been supplied and tested during today’s meeting.
For quick response, the army will deploy striking forces. For the first time, over 100,000 army personnel will be on duty nationwide. The navy will provide over 5,000 personnel, the Air Force 3,730, and the Bangladesh Police around 150,000. Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Force will contribute 576,000 members, the Border Guard approximately 38,000, and the Coast Guard over 3,500 personnel. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) will have about 8,000 personnel, while the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department will deploy 13,390 personnel. Members of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) may also participate, with an estimated 15,000 cadets expected to assist. For the first time, the Fire Service has been included to provide rapid response where needed.
For the first time, drones will be used in the election, with approximately 500 deployed. Police dog squads, comprising about 50 dogs, will also be present. All drones will be managed by government security forces, with restrictions to prevent public use in the vicinity.
