13th national election, referendum preparations complete: Anwarul Islam
On security, the EC confirmed that the largest-ever deployment of law enforcement personnel has been made to ensure peaceful elections.
Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker has announced that all preparations for the 13th national elections and Referendum, scheduled for February 12, have been completed. "Now there is no preparation left except for voters to go to the polling stations and exercise their right to vote," he told BSS in an interview.
While ballot papers have yet to reach some constituencies, the Commissioner assured that the process would be completed in the coming days. According to EC sources, ballots have already been delivered to 116 constituencies, with the remainder expected to be distributed by today. Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed explained that some ballots were reprinted following last-minute court orders reinstating candidates, causing minor delays.
On security, the EC confirmed that the largest-ever deployment of law enforcement personnel has been made to ensure peaceful elections. The army will remain in the field for seven days before and after the polls, while Ansar members will serve for eight days. Police are already on duty, with partial army deployment in place. In addition, 1,050 executive magistrates will operate mobile courts from February 8 to 14, alongside judicial magistrates.
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The EC reported 12,77,11,793 registered voters, including 6,48,25,361 men, 6,28,85,200 women, and 1,232 transgender voters. Jhalakati-1 has the lowest voter count at 228,431, while Gazipur-2 has the highest at 843,333. A total of 2,034 candidates are contesting across 300 constituencies, although voting in Sherpur-3 has been canceled following the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate.
Fifty-one political parties are participating, with BNP fielding 288 candidates, the highest among parties. Nine registered parties have not fielded any candidates, while more than 250 independents are also in the race. Voting will be held across 42,779 polling stations with 247,482 booths nationwide. Dhaka-12 has the most candidates at 15, and Pirojpur-1 the fewest at 2.
The EC said around 800,000 officials will be engaged in election duties, supported by 900,000 law enforcement personnel. Election observation will include 55,454 domestic observers from 81 organizations and around 500 international observers.
Meanwhile, 15,33,684 voters have registered for postal voting, including 772,546 expatriates and 761,138 domestic voters. Among these, 480,416 expatriates have already cast their votes
