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Bangladesh is holding the 12th parliamentary election Sunday amid a festive manner, with the ruling Awami League’s victory nearly guaranteed for a historic fourth consecutive term amid an opposition boycott.
The Election Commission (EC) has completed all preparations to hold the elections in a free, fair and peaceful manner in all but one constituency simultaneously across the country.
EC officials said that 11,96,89,289 voters — including 6,76,09,741 male, 5,89,18,699 female and 849 transgender — will vote today to elect 299 members of parliament out of 300, as the election to Naogaon-2 was postponed due to independent candidate Aminul Islam's death, reports BSS.
The balloting started at 8am and will continue till 4pm without any break at 2,61,912 polling booths in 42,024 voting centres across the country.
The ballot papers and other polling materials, including stamp pads, official seals and marking seals, are being sent to returning officers (ROs) offices around the nation.
However, the EC, for the first time in the election history of the country, decided to send ballot papers to polling stations in the morning of voting day, except 2,964 centres in the country's remote areas as ballots to these centres were sent on Saturday.
A total of 1,970 candidates, including 1,534 from 28 political parties and 436 independents, are vying in the polls. Opposition BNP and several other parties are sitting out of the polls.
Thanks to the opposition boycott, the AL is expected to sweep the polls to again form the government and extend its 15-year rule for another five years until 2029, analysts said.
Of the candidates, 266 are from Awami League, 265 from Jatiya Party (JaPa), 135 from Trinamul BNP, 66 from Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD), 122 from National People's Party (NPP), 13 from Jatiya Party (JP-Manju) and 10 from Bikalpadhara Bangladesh.
A total of 90 female candidates, including from political parties and independents, and 79 from ethnic minority and other groups are vying in the polls.
In 80 to 100 constituencies, tough fights are expected to be seen between AL candidates and its own rivals who are running as independent contestants, reports UNB.
The AL nominated candidates are vying in the election with 'boat' symbol in 266 seats, while the party is sharing 26 seats with JaPa and six seats with three partners of its 14-party alliance – three for JASAD, two for Workers’ Party and one for Jatiya Party (JP-Manju).
JaPa nominated contenders are officially contesting in 265 seats. The 265 JaPa candidates include 26 ones who are vying for the election as candidates of the AL-led alliance. However, some JaPa contestants have unofficially quitted the electoral race.
In the election, some 10,000 polling stations are being considered as vulnerable centres (though the EC called them as important polling centres), reports UNB. Tighter security measures have been taken for these centres.
The required number of members of law enforcement agencies has been deployed across the country to ensure the security of the voters so that they can go to polling centres, exercise franchise and return home safely.
About 8,00,000 members of law enforcement agencies, including 1,82,091 from police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), 1,155 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members, 5,05,788 Ansar and VDP members and Coast Guard personnel, have been tasked with ensuring overall security during the elections across the country, reports BSS.
Members of the armed forces — including 38,154 army personnel and 2,827 navy personnel —were deployed from Wednesday across the country to assist the local civil administration in holding the general election in a free, fair and peaceful manner.
Army personnel are performing their duties in 62 districts while navy personnel have been deployed in two coastal districts - Bhola and Barguna - and 19 upazilas in line with "In Aid to the Civil Power".
Besides, members of Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) are providing assistance to the voting centres in remote hilly areas of the country with helicopters.
A team of 15-17 security members will be posted to protect each polling centre as the EC has designed separate security plans for the polling stations located outside the metropolitan areas and the stations located inside the metropolitan areas.
Outside the metropolitan areas, a team of 15-16 security men including two police with arms, one Ansar with arms, one Ansar with arms or stick, 10 Ansar with sticks, one or two village police members with sticks will protect each normal polling centre.
But in case of each important polling centre (which is considered as vulnerable), there will be a team of 16-17 security men including three police with arms. Inside the metropolitan area, a 15-member security team consisting of three police members with arms, one Ansar with arms, another Ansar with arms or stick and 10 others Ansar members with sticks will ensure security for each centre.
Members of law enforcement agencies and armed forces will remain deployed till January 10 to ensure peace, and control law and order before, after and during voting day.
In addition, BGB Dog Squads — specially trained on explosive materials — are working in different areas across the country to deal with any violent activities.
Besides, the Fire Service and Civil Defence has formed a central monitoring and coordination cell to deal with any kind of incident, including fire and violent activities, during the elections across the country.
The opposition BNP and its like-minded parties have called for a 48-hour hartal, including on the Voting Day. Security has been stepped up across the country after a series of arson attacks on polling centres and fire on a moving train on Friday night that killed four people.
A total of 8,00,000 polling officials — including 42,024 presiding officers, 2,60,856 assistant presiding officers — will remain engaged in polling activities while 1,00,000 more will remain standby. In addition, 3,000 executive and judicial magistrates will perform their duties in the fields across the country during the elections.
A total of 66 ROs, including two divisional commissioners and 64 deputy commissioners (DCs), are performing their responsibilities to conduct the polls.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal addressed the nation on Saturday evening over today’s polls. His address was aired on state-run Bangladesh Television (BTV) and Bangladesh Betar.
The EC has ordered the authorities concerned to enhance security and surveillance at all polling stations across the country in a bid to hold the election in a free and fair manner.
In an order, the commission said it has established a total of 42,024 vote centres at government and non-government educational institutes across the country.
The order instructs the relevant authorities to enhance security and vigilance at polling centres by consulting with the presidents and secretaries of the managing committees of the educational institutes.
EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said a total of 20,773 observers, including 2,000 from different countries across the globe, are monitoring the elections. The election observers also include media personnel.
The EC has introduced an app named 'Smart Election Management BD' to provide latest updates related to polls every two hours.
The voters will be able to track centre-based vote count every two hours after polling and find their polling centres during voting through the app, which is available on the Google Play Store, from anywhere in the country.
The government has imposed a 24-hour ban on the plying of taxicabs, pickup vans, microbuses and trucks starting from Saturday midnight in preparation for the polls.
Besides, a 72-hour ban on motorcycle movement has also been imposed from Friday midnight till Monday midnight. But the motorcycles having EC pass will remain out of the purview of this restriction.
These restrictions will be relaxed for law enforcement agencies, armed forces, administration personnel and observers on permission, vehicles on emergency services, drug, medical equipment and things used for identical works, vehicles to be used for going to and return from airport with passengers and all types of vehicles carrying newspapers, long-route vehicles, contesting candidates and their agents.
As per the instructions, jeep, car, microbus and other small size vehicles of the contesting candidate, vehicle for the election agent will be allowed to ply the roads. However, they will have to obtain an approval from the returning officer and display a sticker on the vehicle.
In the case of motorcycles, journalists, observers or any other person engaged in emergency work will have to obtain an approval of the returning officer.
Officers-employees or any other person engaged in election work will have to take an approval of the Election Commission beforehand for motorcycles.
As per the instruction, necessary effective measures may be taken for relaxation of the restrictions on national highways, inter-district or metropolitan highways, connecting roads of highways and main roads.
In addition, district magistrates may take necessary measures to impose or relax restrictions on certain vehicles in view of local requirements and realities.
On November 15, 2023, CEC Awal announced the schedule to hold the 12th general election on January 7, 2024.
The 11th parliamentary election was held on December 30, 2018, with participation of the two largest political parties of the country — Awami League and BNP.
