80,000 troops will be mobilised to secure general election: Adviser Jahangir

Bangladesh is preparing to deploy 80,000 military personnel to ensure security during the parliamentary elections in February.

Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury outlined the plans on Thursday, saying the Army will take the lead, with support from the Air Force, Navy, Border Guard, Rapid Action Battalion, Ansar and police.

Preparations are already under way, with joint training programmes for personnel from different forces, he said.

“Police training has begun. All other preparations are ongoing. We hope the election will be peaceful, fair, and festive,” he added, drawing parallels with the lively DUCSU elections.

On deployment, he said, unlike the centralised DUCSU arrangements, parliamentary elections require a larger and more dispersed security presence across the country.

Visiting the Passport Office on Thursday, Jahangir also spoke of reforms: “The [passport] processing time has been significantly reduced. Citizen service centres have been opened in multiple locations, and police verification has been removed to expedite passport issuance.”

Addressing staffing concerns, he said: “Personnel are being recruited for passport services. Priority has been given to security forces for the upcoming election, but arrangements are in place to ensure no shortage of staff in passport offices.”