A record number of army personnel and law enforcement agencies was formally deployed nationwide from Sunday ahead of the 13th national parliamentary election and referendum scheduled for February 12, election officials said.
The forces will remain on duty for seven days-four days before polling, on election day, and two days after-continuing their deployment until February 14 to ensure security and maintain law and order.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said formal deployment of law enforcement agencies would begin on Sunday. "The army has already been present, but official deployment starts today. Law enforcement personnel will remain engaged for seven days, covering the pre-election period, polling day and the immediate post-election phase," he said.
He said the overall law and order situation remained normal and the election environment was "completely conducive." All election preparations, he added, have been completed, with ballot boxes already being dispatched to districts and received by returning officers. "Everyone concerned is now fully focused on final preparations," he said.
EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said law enforcement agencies would remain deployed from February 8 to February 14. The army will stay in the field for seven days, while Ansar members will remain deployed for eight days. Police and army personnel are already conducting field-level duties, he added.
He said 1,050 executive magistrates would be deployed during the same period to operate mobile courts. Judicial magistrates will also remain active, while the Electoral Inquiry and Adjudication Committee has already begun functioning. Campaigning by political parties will end 48 hours before polling, at 730am on February 10.
Earlier, on January 22, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said around 900,000 law enforcement personnel-a record number-would be deployed for the election.
He said there would be no scope for ballot box snatching. Unlike previous elections, where one armed police member was stationed at each polling centre, this time at least five armed personnel-two police and three armed Ansar-will be deployed at every centre. Important polling centres will have six armed personnel, including three police members.
Each centre will also have 10 unarmed Ansar members with batons, including six men and four women. Members of BNCC, Girl Guides and Scouts will assist in election duties.
The adviser said the deployment would take place in two phases, with centre-based deployment covering the seven-day election period.
In comparison, about 600,000 law enforcers were deployed during the 2018 election, while the number rose to around 800,000 in the 2024 polls-underscoring the scale of security measures for the February 12 vote.
