The Election Commission (EC) has completed all preparations for the 13th parliamentary election and referendum scheduled for February 12, Election Commissioner Md Anwarul Islam Sarker has said.
In an interview with the state-run news agency BSS, Anwarul Sarker said the commission is fully ready and that no work remains except for voters to cast their ballots. He said ballot papers are still being delivered to a few constituencies, but the process will be completed within the next few days, well before polling day.
Regarding law and order, the commissioner said an unprecedented number of security personnel have been deployed to ensure a peaceful election.
“This is the highest deployment of law enforcement in the country’s electoral history,” he said, adding that no major untoward incidents have been reported so far.
According to EC officials, ballot papers for both the parliamentary election and the referendum have already reached 116 constituencies. The remaining constituencies are expected to receive them by February 7.
EC Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said some ballot papers had to be reprinted due to last-minute court orders reinstating candidates, which caused slight delays. However, he assured that all election materials would reach polling centres on time.
Under the security plan, the army will be deployed for seven days before and after the election, while Ansar members will remain on duty for eight days. Police have already been deployed, along with partial army deployment. In addition, 1,050 executive magistrates will conduct mobile courts from February 8 to February 14, along with judicial magistrates.
The EC said a total of 12,77,11,793 voters are registered for the election and referendum. This includes 6,48,25,361 men, 6,28,85,200 women and 1,232 transgender voters. Jhalakati-1 constituency has the lowest number of voters, while Gazipur-2 has the highest.
A total of 2,034 candidates are contesting in 300 constituencies. However, voting in Sherpur-3 has been cancelled following the death of a Jamaat-e-Islami candidate. Fifty-one political parties are taking part in the election, with BNP fielding the highest number of candidates. More than 250 independent candidates are also contesting.
Voting will take place at 42,779 polling centres across the country, with 2,47,482 polling booths. Around 800,000 election officials and 900,000 members of law enforcement agencies will be engaged in election duties.
Observer presence will be significant, with more than 55,000 domestic observers from 81 organisations and around 500 foreign observers monitoring the polls.
Meanwhile, more than 15 lakh voters have registered for postal voting, including expatriates and voters inside the country. Of them, over 4.8 lakh expatriate voters have already cast their votes.