Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Wednesday said the law and order situation will continue to improve and everything will be in order before the voting day.
“It will improve gradually. As the polling day approaches, you will see everything will fall in line. Everything will be fine,” he said, replying to a question if the election is possible amid the current law and order situation.
He made the remarks while talking to reporters after inspecting an election-related training and mock exercise organised by the 5th Battalion of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) at Pilkhana in the capital.
The CEC said, “I won’t say the law and order situation has reached a perfect level. You saw what the situation was on August 5, 2024. Now compare it with the current situation. Now you can sleep safely. You were able to come here safely. There was no difficulty on the way. So, it will improve further, gradually.”
He said the Election Commission will sit again with law enforcement agencies on November 30 over specific proposals. “The development strategy will be finalised there."
Nasir Uddin said law enforcement agencies are being deployed on the field with maximum preparedness to ensure a free, peaceful and neutral election.
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“Today we saw a very well-conducted mock exercise here. It was fully designed considering our election culture. The training covered all conceivable dimensions of what usually happens during elections or how elections are conducted. I am very pleased,” he said.
He said election duty does not come regularly — only once every four to five years — which is why the forces need special training.
“BGB’s regular duties are in the border areas. We will provide election-related training to various law enforcement agencies,” he said, adding that Police are training their members at 130 centres based on election requirements.
“We have earlier seen Ansar-VDP’s drills. They are undergoing training as well. This BGB exercise will play a very important role. They are preparing their members so they can perform their duties properly,” he said.
The CEC said each law enforcement agency is responsibly preparing its members. “We expect this training will have a significant impact on maintaining election-time law and order. I hope all law enforcement agencies, journalists, and 130 million voters together will help us deliver a fair election.”
About a political party’s announcement to resist the election, the CEC said, “All necessary steps will be taken against those who have announced resistance. Journalists, voters, and citizens — everyone must work together to prevent any unwanted situation.”
Regarding the recent discussions about running the election by advisers of the interim government, he said it is a policy matter of the government. “The Election Commission will perform its duties according to the laws.”
About risky polling stations, he said the EC has made a risk assessment. “Forces will be deployed according to three zones — red, yellow, and green,” he said.
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Meanwhile, BGB informed that 1,210 platoons will be deployed nationwide during the upcoming 13th national election. BGB will carry out election duties in all upazilas across the country except Sandwip, Hatiya and Kutubdia. In 60 of the 115 border upazilas, BGB members will perform election duties independently.
BGB Director General Major General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, senior BGB officers and EC officials were present at the mock exercise event.