With 35 days remaining until the 13th National Parliamentary election and referendum, law enforcement agencies will be deployed nationwide for seven days from February 8 to 14 to ensure security around the vote, officials said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular on Wednesday confirming that police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Ansar and VDP, Coast Guard and members of the armed forces will be deployed under the provision to maintain law and order before, during and after polling day on February 12.
According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 1,842 candidates are currently in the race after nomination scrutiny, while 723 candidacies were cancelled. So far, 295 candidates have filed appeals with the EC seeking reinstatement of their nominations. Appeals will be accepted until January 9, with hearings scheduled from January 10 to 18.
The deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is January 20, while the final list of candidates and symbol allocation will be published on January 21. Election campaigning will begin on January 22 and continue until 7:30am on February 10.
On the third day of appeals alone, 131 applications were submitted across 10 regions, bringing the three-day total to 295, the EC said.
The upcoming election will involve about 135 million voters across 300 constituencies. Voting will take place at 42,766 polling stations with more than 245,000 polling booths. As the parliamentary election and referendum are being held simultaneously, voters will receive two ballot papers.
The EC is in a strict position. Candidates are also being fined for violating the code of conduct. The EC is making all kinds of preparations for the vote. Now the work of appointing polling officers is underway.
There are 13.5 crore voters in 300 constituencies in the 13th parliamentary election. There will be 42,766 polling stations across the country; out of which, there will be 245,195 polling booths.
Since the parliament and the referendum are held together, voters will receive two ballot papers. IT-supported postal voting has been introduced for the first time; 15,33,683 people are voting in postal ballots in the country and abroad.
The EC has invited foreign observers, as well as heads of various international organizations and election management organizations of different countries, to observe the 13th parliamentary election and referendum.
In the meantime, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has sent letters to a total of 83 people from 26 countries and seven international organizations, said EC's Assistant Director of Public Relations Md. Ashadul Haque.
On the third day of appeals against the decisions of the returning officers regarding the acceptance and cancellation of nomination papers in the national elections, 131 applications were submitted to the EC.
This brings the total number of appeal applications in the three days to 295. This information was given by the EC's central booth regarding the acceptance of applications on Wednesday.
The EC said that on the third day of appeals against the decisions of the returning officers regarding the verification and cancellation of nomination papers, 131 applications were submitted to the EC. A total of 295 applications were received in the three days of appeals. Of these, 9 were in Rangpur region, 15 in Rajshahi region, 11 in Khulna region, 9 in Barisal region, 16 in Mymensingh region, 31 in Dhaka region, 7 in Faridpur region, 4 in Sylhet region, 19 in Cumilla region and 10 in Chattogram region.
The relevant returning officers have cancelled the candidatures of 723 people after verifying the nomination papers. This brings the number of valid candidates to 1,842. The EC said that 131 applications were received in 10 regions on Wednesday.
According to the election schedule, appeals will be accepted until January 9. Disposition will be from January 10 to 18. The last date for withdrawal of candidacy is January 20. The returning officer will publish the final list of candidates and allocate symbols on January 21. The election campaign will begin on January 22. The campaign can be conducted until 7:30 am on February 10. And the voting will be held on February 12.
Law enforcement forces will be deployed for seven days around the 13th parliamentary election and referendum. Law enforcement forces will be on the ground from February 8 to 14 around the February 12 vote.
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued a circular in this regard on Wednesday. The Home Ministry circular states, "There will be law enforcement forces four days before the election, on the day of the election and two days after the election from February 8 to February 14."
The circular states, “In order to conduct the 13th National Parliament election in a free, fair, peaceful and impartial manner, it has been decided to appoint police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Ansar and VDP, Coast Guard to maintain peace and order and to deploy members of the armed forces under the 'In Aid to Civil Power' to assist the local civil administration.”
The circular also states, “The armed forces, BGB, Coast Guard, RAB, Police, APBN and Ansar battalions will work as mobile and striking forces to maintain peace and order in the election areas. BGB, RAB, APBN and Ansar battalions will work at district-upazila and police station levels. The Coast Guard will be responsible for coastal areas.”
How many members will be involved in vote security: There are 13.5 crore voters in this election. There will be about 260,000 polling booths in about 43,000 polling stations in 300 constituencies. The initial meeting announced plans to have 13 to 18 members of the law enforcement agencies at each polling station. More than 700,000 members of the law enforcement agencies will be responsible for vote security this time. The number of Ansar-VDP members will be about 550,000. The number of armed forces members is more than 90,000. In addition, there will be police, RAB, BGB, and Coast Guard.
There will be a law and order coordination cell: The circular said that in addition to the police, Ansar VDP, the armed forces, BGB, Coast Guard, and RAB will have to coordinate. There will be one representative of the law and order enforcement agencies in this coordination cell.
The circular states that a special team should be formed on the emergency service number 999 to provide round-the-clock service on the occasion of the 13th National Parliament Election and referendum and linked to the Law and Order Coordination Cell. That team will send the complaints/information received regarding the election directly to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the area-based Law and Order Coordination Cell for prompt action.
In addition, to ensure a smooth election, joint forces in coordination with the Law and Order Coordination Cells formed in the districts and upazilas during the election period will conduct illegal weapons recovery, terrorist arrests, area-based operations and check point operations based on special information.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
