BSS Photo
Source: BSS
DST News: Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said on Monday that the country currently enjoys a safe and stable environment conducive to holding the national elections scheduled for February next year.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with senior law enforcement officials at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon, he said, “The Commission has held comprehensive discussions with top officials from various law enforcement agencies to further strengthen this environment. The main aim was to ensure a secure, transparent, and impartial atmosphere for the polls.”
In response to a question, Akhtar Ahmed noted that the existing election environment is already “fair and favorable,” and ongoing coordination and preparations will continue to improve it.
Regarding security deployment, the EC secretary said that the initial plan was to keep law enforcement personnel on duty for five days during the election period. However, a new proposal has been placed to extend their presence—three days before, on the polling day itself, and four days after the election. A final decision on this will be made following further evaluation.
He added that about 150,000 police officers, 90,000 to 100,000 army personnel, and around 550,000 to 600,000 Ansar members will be deployed to ensure election security nationwide.
On the recovery of illegal firearms, Akhtar Ahmed said that law enforcement agencies have already confiscated about 85 percent of such weapons, and efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining ones before the elections.
Detailing the election security plan, he said that the discussions covered various issues including the safety of polling stations and officers, constituency-level and nationwide security, control of illegal arms, prevention of misinformation on social media, protection of foreign journalists and observers, postal voting, illegal infiltration, curbing black money, coordination of EC and administrative activities, and transport arrangements such as the use of helicopters in remote and hilly regions.
The secretary further stated that the use of drones will generally be prohibited during campaign activities, though law enforcement agencies may use them when required for security monitoring. The Home Secretary also confirmed that surveillance at polling centers will be reinforced using monitoring systems, body cameras, and drones.
“All forces are conducting their own training sessions to ensure smooth and efficient operations on election day,” he said. “Today’s meeting was essentially a preparatory step to make the upcoming election more organized and credible. We will continue refining our plans in coordination with relevant agencies to achieve one goal — a free, fair, and participatory election.”
The meeting, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, was attended by four election commissioners, the EC secretary, the Home Ministry’s senior secretary, and high-ranking representatives from the police, army, navy, air force, Armed Forces Division, BGB, Coast Guard, Ansar, RAB, CID, SB, NTMC, and other concerned departments.
Akhtar Ahmed concluded by saying that law enforcement and defence forces are fully prepared to ensure security throughout the election process, from schedule implementation to vote counting, maintaining close coordination with the Election Commission at all administrative levels — union, upazila, and district.
