More than half of Bangladesh’s polling centres have been identified as “risk-prone” ahead of Thursday’s parliamentary elections, as authorities prepare unprecedented security arrangements, including CCTV surveillance at most centres and body-worn cameras for police personnel, particularly in the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh will go to the polls on Thursday in its first parliamentary election since the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina following nationwide protests in August 2024.
Election officials said the Election Commission’s security deployment is based on detailed local risk assessments. “Security deployment is being made based on local sensitivity assessments,” Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah said.
The Election Commission said this election will see the largest-ever deployment of law enforcement personnel and the most extensive use of technology in Bangladesh’s electoral history.
Sanaullah said the Election Commission is confident that security forces will maintain a calm and orderly atmosphere for voters on polling day and afterwards, adding that the overall law-and-order situation is better than in previous election periods.
His remarks came hours after Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam said that 24,000 of nearly 43,000 polling centres across the country had been classified as “high” or “moderate” risk.
Police officials said they had shared a list of risk-prone polling centres with the Election Commission, which showed that of the 2,131 polling centres in Dhaka, 1,614 were considered risk-prone. However, the army said it had identified only two centres in Dhaka city as “risky.”
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (Retd.) Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah said nearly 958,000 law enforcement personnel have been deployed nationwide to ensure a free, fair and impartial national election and referendum on Thursday.
Speaking at a press briefing on overall election preparations at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, Dhaka, he said that for the first time, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones and body-worn cameras are being used as part of election security measures.
He said voting will be held in 299 constituencies. Polling in Sherpur-3 has been postponed following the death of a candidate.
ALSO READ: As Bangladesh’s electoral die is cast, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s make or break moment
To strengthen election oversight and security, authorities have deployed 2,098 executive magistrates and 657 judicial magistrates across the country.
The elections are being held under the interim government led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, which last year disbanded former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and barred the party from contesting the polls.
