With election security in focus, EC to sit with law enforcement, intel chiefs Monday
Will also hold a Field Administration Coordination Committee meeting on 22 October with representatives from the Cabinet Division, Public Administration, Local Government, ministries of Education, Primary and Mass Education, and Law, as well as the Bangladesh Bank
With law and order expected to be the biggest challenge in the upcoming general election in February, the Election Commission (EC) will hold a high-level meeting with the chiefs of all law enforcement and intelligence agencies at its Agargaon Secretariat office on Monday (20 October).
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and other commissioners will attend the meeting, which will cover 13 agenda points, including polling official safety, polling centre security, and maintaining a peaceful election environment nationwide, according to EC sources.
The commission has invited top officials from the home ministry, armed forces, police, Border Guard, Coast Guard, Ansar & VDP, DGFI, NSI, NTMC, RAB, and the Special Branch/CID.
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The EC will also hold a Field Administration Coordination Committee meeting on 22 October with representatives from the Cabinet Division, Public Administration, Local Government, ministries of Education, Primary and Mass Education, and Law, as well as the Bangladesh Bank.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said last Tuesday that preparations are progressing according to the roadmap. Procurement of necessary equipment has been completed, objections regarding observer organisations will be resolved on time, and party registration decisions are expected within a week. The registration app is scheduled to launch in late October or early November.
During an 11 October meeting in Chattogram, CEC Nasir Uddin exchanged views with field-level administrative and law enforcement officials, saying that security remains the biggest challenge in organising the upcoming election.
What are the 13 priority issues?
The EC has outlined 13 priority agenda points for its law and order meeting.
These include – Drafting plans to ensure the safety of polling officials, secure polling centres, and maintain peace in election areas; Coordinating and integrating law enforcement agencies' activities; Protecting communal harmony and minority safety; Preventing and controlling illegal arms use; Curbing misinformation on social media using AI technology; Ensuring security support for foreign journalists and pre-election observers; Managing postal voting; Deploying armed forces for election security; Controlling illegal entrants; Securing election offices at district and sub-district levels; Transporting election materials and providing helicopter support in hilly/remote areas; Taking law-and-order measures based on intelligence agencies' advice; Banning the use of drone cameras.
Voter safety a key concern
A recent survey by private research firm Innovision Consulting, People's Election Pulse Survey: Round 2 – Part 2, asked 10,413 voters nationwide between 2–15 September why they might abstain from voting. 32.65% cited security concerns as their reason.
Law and order a priority in EC's election plan
The EC released its election roadmap on 28 August, listing law and order as a key priority among 24 major tasks. The first meeting with law enforcement officials is scheduled for Monday (20 October), with another planned 15 days before the polls schedule announcement to finalise deployment plans, coordination, and directives.
The EC also plans a day-long training a week before the election for field administration, mobile and striking forces, and deployed executive magistrates.
By 31 October, an inter-ministerial meeting will review schedule preparations, collect loan defaulters' information, arrange result transmission from polling stations through special envelopes, and appoint executive magistrates.
Twenty days before the schedule announcement, the EC will coordinate with the Ministry of Law to form the Electoral Inquiry Committee and appoint judicial magistrates.
Since 28 September, the EC has engaged civil society, academics, media, election experts, and women leaders. Civil society representatives said public trust in law enforcement has declined after 5 August 2024; restoring it before the election is crucial.
During a dialogue, EC Commissioner and head of the Law and Order Coordination Committee, Brig Gen (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah, said past elections saw law enforcement misusing its power, but this time they are expected to support a fair election. He noted that organisational and cultural changes over 15–16 years cannot be reversed overnight, but security is being strengthened through volunteer recruitment, including Rover Scouts.
Former EC acting secretary, Md Zakaria, said that maintaining neutrality in recruitment is essential, given the EC has only 2,500 officials but needs nearly 10 lakh personnel for the polls.
Voter count may exceed 12.75 crore
According to EC sources, the number of voters in the upcoming parliamentary election could reach nearly 12.75 crore. In the last parliamentary election, with over 12 crore voters, there were more than 42,000 polling centres. This time, the EC Secretariat is planning how to manage coordination without increasing the number of polling centres.
On 31 August, the EC published the final supplementary voter list, reporting a total of 12,63,07,504 registered voters. This number is expected to rise, as citizens who turn 18 by 31 October will also be added to the list. The final voter count will be confirmed just before the election.
16,000 polling centres identified as vulnerable
Chief Adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam in July 2025 outlined plans for law enforcement duties during the election. He said around 8 lakh personnel will be deployed, including 5.70 lakh Ansar members and 1.41 lakh police officers. Of these, 47,000 police personnel will be stationed at polling centres, with assessments identifying roughly 16,000 centres as potentially vulnerable.
This month, Home Adviser Lieutenant General (retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told journalists that over 80,000 armed forces personnel will be deployed at the field level for the election.
In the 12th parliamentary election, held on 7 January 2024, there were 11.97 crore voters, more than 42,000 polling centres, and over 2.61 lakh polling booths, with 66 returning officers and 592 assistant returning officers overseeing the process.
