Bangladesh’s Election Commission (EC) has imposed a ban on mobile phones within a 400-yard radius of polling centres on election day, triggering sharp protests from right-wing political parties who have threatened action if the order is not withdrawn.
The directive, issued on Sunday, states that no individual will be allowed to enter a polling station or remain within 400 yards of it with a mobile phone on polling day.
The restriction applies to voters, polling agents and all personnel on election duty, with limited exemptions for presiding officers, officers-in-charge of police at polling centres and two authorised Ansar members assigned to each station.
The order comes ahead of Bangladesh’s parliamentary elections scheduled for February 12, the first national polls since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina following mass student-led protests in August 2024.
The decision has drawn strong opposition from Jamaat-e-Islami and its right-wing allies, who have emerged as key challengers in the post-Awami League political landscape.
Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman warned that a “stern movement” would be launched if the ban was not withdrawn, including plans to besiege the Election Commission’s office.
Similar threats were issued by the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), which rose to prominence during the 2024 protests and is now part of the Jamaat-led 11-party right-wing alliance.
NCP convenor Nahid Islam said the EC office would be besieged if the directive remained in place.
ALSO READ: Meghalaya High Court flags enforcement failure in illegal coal mining
Jamaat’s assistant secretary general Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair formally conveyed the party’s position through a press statement, while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has so far refrained from commenting on the EC’s decision.
As tensions mounted over the order, the election campaign entered its final day, with major political parties holding rallies across Dhaka.
BNP chairperson Tarique Rahman addressed gatherings in his Dhaka-17 constituency and at Kalabagan Krirachakro Club playground, while leaders of the Jamaat-led alliance, including Maulana Mamunul Haque, Jamaat Ameer Rahman and NCP’s Nahid Islam, addressed a rally at Mohammadpur Eidgah Ground.
The EC has not yet responded publicly to the threats of protest or siege, even as the country moves into the final phase of campaigning ahead of the high-stakes parliamentary elections.
