Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday morning started its second-phase meeting with law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, in a bid to finalize the deployment strategy of security personnel during the upcoming national election and referendum scheduled for February 2026.
The meeting began with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the chair at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
Top representatives from the three armed forces – Army, Navy, and Air Force – as well as the Home Affairs Ministry, Police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Coast Guard, Ansar and VDP, the Armed Forces Division, DGFI, NSI, NTMC, SB, and CID attended the meeting.
The meeting is being held focusing on the deployment of security personnel, maintaining the law and order during the election, providing the security to election officials, election materials and polling stations, recovery of illegal arms and removal of illegal campaign materials like posters.
About election-time security, CEC AMM Nasir Uddin said at an event on Wednesday that the law and order situation will continue to improve and everything will be in order before voting day.
“It will improve gradually. As the polling day approaches, you will see everything will fall in line. Everything will be fine,” he told reporters after inspecting an election-related training and mock exercise organised by BGB at Pilkhana in the capital.
The CEC added, “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… it will improve further, gradually.”
Regarding the security meeting, he said the Election Commission will meet again with law enforcement agencies over specific proposals. “The deployment strategy will be finalised there,” he said.
Nasir Uddin said law enforcement agencies are being deployed in the field with maximum preparedness to ensure a free, peaceful, and neutral election.
Earlier, on October 20, the EC held its first security meeting with law enforcement agencies to ensure the 13th parliamentary election is conducted in a free, participatory, and fair manner.
The Election Commission will also hold a coordination meeting with the heads of various ministries, departments, and authorities on November 30 as part of preparatory activities for the upcoming general election.
The Cabinet Secretary, Bangladesh Bank Governor, senior secretaries of the Home Affairs Ministry, Public Administration Ministry, Shipping Ministry, and Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, and Foreign Secretary are among the 34 invitees for the coordination meeting.
Earlier, the Election Commission held dialogues with 47 registered political parties, including BNP, Jamaat, and National Citizen Party-NCP, on November 13, 16, 17, and 19.
In late September 2025, the Commission began a series of electoral dialogues with different stakeholders, including civil society representatives on September 28. Later, it held separate dialogues with the 47 registered political parties, as well as representatives of teachers, senior journalists from various media outlets, election experts, and election observers.
The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule in early December for holding the next general election in early February 2026.