Dhaka Correspondent:

A high-level meeting has been held on the overall law and order situation ahead of the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections and the referendum on the implementation of the July National Charter. The meeting was held today at the office of the Chief Advisor under the chairmanship of Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to the Interim Government.

The meeting was attended by— Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd.), Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor Muhammad Fawzul Kabir Khan, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Defense and National Integration Development Lt. Gen. (retd.) Abdul Hafiz, National Security Advisor Khalilur Rahman, Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor on Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Fayez Ahmed Tayyab, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Army Chief Waqar-uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hasan, Air Chief Marshal Hassan Mahmud Khan, Principal Secretary to the Chief Advisor M Siraj Uddin Mia, Home Secretary Nasimul Gani, Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam, Director General of Border Guard Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui, current Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud, Director General of the Coast Guard Rear Admiral Md. Ziaul Haque, Director General of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) AKM Shahidur Rahman and heads of various intelligence agencies were present.

The Chief Advisor said in the meeting, we will actually help the Election Commission, this is our job. This is a big challenge for the nation, which we have to take on and complete this huge task and make it a historic achievement. He said, we must be extremely focused on ensuring that nothing is lacking on election day. There should be no glitches anywhere on February 12.

The 2026 election should be an election that will set a precedent for future elections. He said, keeping the election in mind, our step-by-step tests have started. Starting today, the final will be on February 12. The EC's instructions are now the biggest instructions, everyone has to work together in accordance with the EC's instructions.

He said, the Ministry of Home Affairs will play the main role in the command related to law and order. Now there are various challenges, various technical challenges have been added together. He said, we will use body cameras in this election. We will use CCTV cameras, everything will be monitored from the central control room.

He said, we must ensure that there is no lack of coordination between the forces in performing their duties. He said, this time around the election, a large number of journalists from home and abroad will cover the election and domestic and foreign observers are showing great interest. They have taken the matter very seriously, we also have to be super serious about this.

‘We have to be ready for everything. With the situation prevailing at the moment and the preparations that are in place, a beautiful election is possible,’ said the Chief Advisor. The Chief Advisor said that all those contesting in the election are maintaining a positive attitude and maintaining mutual harmony. I hope none of them will deviate from this attitude.

In the meeting, EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that 51 parties out of 59 registered political parties are participating in this election. He said that representatives from 26 countries have been invited to observe the elections. The European Union is expected to send an observer team of about 300 people. 56 of their representatives are already in Bangladesh. Two of their representatives observed the appeal process related to the nomination papers.

He said that candidates will be able to campaign from midnight today until 7:30 am on February 10. He said that information distortion in cyberspace is a big challenge this time. In this election, some extra time will be required for counting party symbol ballots, referendum ballots and postal ballots. The media should play a responsible role so that no misinformation or rumors spread around this.

In the meeting, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Advisor Muhammad Faozul Kabir Khan said that his ministry is working on uninterrupted power supply on election day. Special Assistant to the Chief Advisor in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Fayez Ahmed Tayyab said that the ministry is working to ensure uninterrupted mobile network and internet services at all polling stations on election day.

Army Chief Waqar-uz-Zaman said that 3,619 weapons were looted from various police stations of the country during the mass uprising in August 2024. Of the looted weapons, 2,259 have been recovered, which is 62.4 percent of the looted weapons.

He also said that the amount of ammunition looted from different police stations in the country during the same period is 456,418 rounds. Of this, 237,100 rounds have already been recovered, which is 52 percent. He said that the forces are taking various steps based on mutual discussions to ensure peace in the minds of the people during the election, which if implemented in the coming days, it is possible to gift a peaceful election to the nation.

Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defense Force (VDP) Director General Major General Abdul Motaleb Sajjad Mahmud said that armed Ansar members will be present inside the polling station to ensure the security of the presiding officer in this election. As a result, no one will be able to throw out the agent of a rival candidate from the center at will. No one will be allowed to do any illegal work inside the center.

Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.) said that members of the armed forces will now be considered law enforcement officers. So, if necessary, they will be able to enter the premises of the polling stations. Home Secretary Nasimul Gani said that body cameras will reach the local level within the next five days.

He said that members of the police and other forces will use drones in necessary cases. He said that members of all forces will be deployed four days before the election and they will remain in the field for another seven days after the election. He said that from today, multiple teams led by the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs will monitor and record all information related to the election at the field level for 24 hours. He said that body cameras can be connected to the relevant areas immediately. Through this, all incidents can be recorded.

At this time, he presented a video on the use of body cameras. The chief advisor said that body cameras have various potential aspects. If it is used properly, it is possible to achieve huge success. He said that from now on, meetings will be held every week and if necessary, at shorter intervals.