The government has put in place wide-ranging security measures for the December 30 parliamentary polls with the deployment of over six lakh law enforcers to maintain law and order across the country. Also, the law enforcement agencies have finalised a security plan for the scheduled election date. As many as 1.72 lakh policemen, 10,000 Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel, 4.86 lakh Ansar men and 40,000 village policemen are being deployed for election duty.
Members from the armed forces, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and Coast Guard have already been deployed as striking forces. They can enter polling centres when deemed necessary by the presiding officers. Besides, 1,693 magistrates will keep vigil to punish violators of the electoral code.
Ten thousand RAB members will be deployed across the country for the election. RAB was adequately prepared to prevent any type of violence from anybody anywhere in the country, RAB director general Benazir Ahmed told this to journalists at the force’s media centre yesterday.
RAB has also opened a Facebook page named ‘RAB-News Verification Centre’ to verify rumours and propaganda and curb fake news regarding the upcoming polls.
“If we receive information about any news that spreads fear or confusion among the masses, we will verify it immediately,” Ahmed said.
In a related development, the national emergency service ‘999’ has also incorporated poll-centric services with its current ones and formed an anti-rumour cell, which will function under police headquarters. If any incident occurs and a person wants to check whether it is a rumour or not, he/she can call 999 to verify it.
Earlier, the announcement of the election schedule was made amid an ongoing tussle between the Awami League-led coalition and the Jatyio Oikyafront, in which Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) is the main stakeholder.
Yesterday was the last day for campaigning with candidates busy in mass contact programs in their respective constituencies.
Of the six lakh security personnel, at least 172,000 will be uniformed police, sources said.
Based on their potential risk, police have categorised polling centres as ‘red’, ‘yellow’ and ‘green’. The number of policemen in sensitive places will be increased.
The law enforcement agencies have also identified areas and polling centres which might witness clashes and untoward situation and worked out plans and measures to fend off such incidents, sources in different law enforcement agencies and the Election Commission (EC) told The Independent.
Meanwhile, the EC has finalised 40,199 polling centres in the country for the 11th national election. Around 104.2 million voters across the country are expected to cast their votes on December 30.
Police have classified 25,827 polling centres as “important”, which sources said was a way of avoiding the term “vulnerable” since it has a negative connotation.
At some centres, around 15-20 policemen might be posted. Centres are also categorised according to their geographical locations, namely “plain zone” and “special zone”. The “plain zone” is further categorized into “general zone” and “important zone”. During polling, 2,300-2,500 mobile teams of policemen will work across the country. Thry have been instructed to abide by the EC’s directives.
A total of 4.86 lakh Ansar and VDP personnel will guard the polling centres. Of them 80,000 Ansar personnel of the rank of Platoon Commander (PC) and Assistant Platoon Commander (APC) will be deployed at the polling booths with firearms.
At least 25,000 military personnel, including about 5,000 members of the Navy, were deployed as “striking forces” in most of the upazilas from Monday to help maintain law and order during the polls.
About 20,000 military personnel have been deployed in 289 constituencies across the country, according to government sources. Around 5,000 members of the Navy were being deployed from Monday.
At least 64 units of the Bangladesh Army, each headed by a unit commander with the rank of a Lieutenant Colonel, will be deployed to help the civil force. The Army personnel will work in the administrative areas of responsibility (AOR) under the supervision of the 10 Army divisions in the country, the sources added.
RAB director general said 57 camps have been set up for RAB across the country and 9,966 personnel will be deployed. At least, 19 temporary camps have been set up as well. Two helicopters will be used for any kind of violence or other urgent needs in any part of the country. The EC has already been allowed to use two helicopters. Apart from this, two army helicopters will remain on standby.
“RAB is a special force and we will run on any edge if needed. RAB members have been deployed since Tuesday. Besides, our intelligence activities are going on as well to monitor and curb any destructive event or spread of false information,” the RAB director said.
On December 20, IGP Mohammad Javed Patwary had informed that the law and order situation leading up to the parliamentary election was better than ever, and law enforcers were well prepared to ensure a peaceful polling environment. “We are taking actions on specific allegations. Now, police along with all the administration and law enforcers are under the EC,” the IGP said. The EC has allocated budgets for the law enforcement agencies that will carry out poll duties.
The EC has estimated Tk 732 crore to be spent for holding the 11th parliamentary polls. Bangladesh Police has been allocated Tk 63,22,84,250, BGB Tk 33,02,43,884, RAB Tk 10,20,28,850, Bangladesh Coast Guard Tk 1,56,00,000 and Ansar and VDP Tk 163,81,75,600. On November 8, chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda had said that more than six lakh law enforcers will be deployed across the country. “Their performance and neutrality will be under watch. Legal action will be taken against law enforcers who fail to perform their duty properly,” he added.