Desk Report:
Maximum security measures have been taken to make the upcoming 13th National Parliament Election and referendum free, fair, impartial, peaceful and festive, said Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (retd). He said that a total of 8 lakh 97 thousand 117 law enforcement officers will be deployed across the country during the election period.
He said these things at a press briefing organized after the 20th meeting of the Advisory Council Committee on Law and Order at the conference room of the Ministry of Home Affairs on Monday (January 19, 2026) at 2 pm. The meeting was presided over by the Home Affairs Advisor himself.
The Home Affairs Advisor said that the meeting reviewed the overall law and order situation in the country, the deployment plan of law and order forces in the elections, steps taken to make the elections peaceful and acceptable, the progress of Operation Devil Hunt Phase-2, recovery of illegal and looted weapons and anti-drug operations, and various important issues were discussed in detail.
He said that the law and order forces will be deployed in two phases on the occasion of the elections. In the first phase, the currently deployed forces will remain in place and in the second phase, members will be on duty for 7 days from February 8 to 14 under the vote-centered deployment. All activities including polling station-based security, mobile and striking forces will be conducted under the returning officer.
Along with the police, Ansar and VDP, the armed forces, BGB, Coast Guard and RAB will be deployed under the ‘In Aid to Civil Power’ in the elections. For this purpose, a central law and order coordination cell will be formed, where representatives of all forces will be present.
To ensure round-the-clock service during the election, a special team will be formed on the emergency number 999 and linked to the Law and Order Coordination Cell. Complaints received will be immediately sent to the coordination cells of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the concerned areas.
The Home Affairs Advisor said that the total number of polling stations in this election is 42,761. Of these, 8,780 are more important, 16,548 are important and 17,433 are general polling stations. 25,000 body worn cameras will be used in more important and important centers and preparations are being made to install CCTV in each polling station.
In addition, for the first time, special training has been organized for law and order forces on the occasion of the election, which will be completed by January 20, 2026. It has been decided to use 418 drones and dog squads of various forces for surveillance in the election.
Regarding the use of technology in election security, he said, ‘Election Security App-2026’ will play an important role in controlling law and order. Through this app prepared by NTMC, it will be possible to receive complaints immediately and take quick action.
Regarding Operation Devil Hunt Phase-2, the Home Advisor said that 19,854 people have been arrested in the operation from December 13, 2025 to January 17, 2026. During this time, 346 firearms, 2,191 rounds of bullets, 722 rounds of cartridges and a large amount of illegal weapons and explosives were recovered. The total number of arrests on cases and warrants stands at 53,367.
