Staff Reporter:
The government has intensified preparations to hold the upcoming 13th national parliamentary elections, scheduled for February next year, in a free, fair, and peaceful manner, Home Adviser Lieutenant Gen-eral (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said yesterday.
“The interim government is entirely election-focused, with comprehensive security and coordination plans already in motion,” he said.
The Home Adviser, on several occasions, confirmed the readiness of the government to hold the upcom-ing elections in February.
As part of election preparations, a total of 7.68 lakh members of various law enforcement agencies — including police, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Ansar and VDP — are receiving specialized electoral training to ensure neutrality and efficiency during the upcoming election.
Around 1.5 lakh officers are being trained under nine modules designed by the Police Headquarters’ Human Resources Division, with input from legal and election experts.
Around 5.85 lakh members of Bangladesh Ansar and VDP — including 1.35 lakh armed and 4.5 lakh unarmed personnel — are being trained for deployment to 45,000 polling stations, averaging 13 person-nel per center.
Apart from police and Ansar, 33,000 members from Border Guard Bangladesh (1,100 platoons) are completing election training, with full readiness expected by December 31.
The Home Adviser hoped that the training will be accomplished by January 15 next.
Additionally, 80,000 armed forces personnel will act as striking forces to reinforce law and order during the polls.
About new appointments in the law enforcement forces for election duties, the Home Adviser stated that 10,264 police personnel, 2,145 Ansar and VDP members, 5,513 BGB members, and 634 Coast Guard personnel have been newly appointed for election responsibilities.
