July 10, 2025
Dhaka – Chief adviser Muhammad Yunus yesterday ordered the authorities to complete preparations for the upcoming national election in December.
He may hold a poll in February or April, where he held a meeting with law enforcement officers at state hotel Jamuna in the capital.
The meeting discussed meetings by law enforcement agencies for the preparation for elections, as well as meetings of family counselors, national security counselors, home secretary and police officers, RAB, ANSAR, ANSAR, Coast Guard and other units.
Earlier, on the eve of the Eid Festival, Yunus said the election could be held in the first half of next April.
“Later, we informed that if preparations were completed and reformed, the election could be held before Ramadan – probably February. This means that everything needed to build an electoral agency framework must now begin.” His press secretary Shafiqul Alam was quoted by his press secretary Shafiqul Alam in a briefing last night.
On June 13, after meeting with London’s Tarique Rahman, the acting chairman of the French French Nationalist Party suggested polls before Ramadan, Yunus said that if all preparations were completed, it was indeed possible to hold elections a week before the fast.
Ramadan is expected to begin from the third week of February.
Yesterday’s meeting discussed the Deputy Commissioner, Ubashi Nilbashi official and the Deputy Police Officer of the Police Department and the local police department responsible.
Typically, during the elections, the Deputy Commissioner serves as Returning Officials and Upazila Nirbahi officials serves as assistant Returning Officials, while the SPS and OCS maintain the law and orders.
Shafikel said: “This is uncertain…but the Army will serve as a strike force during the polls and whether the army will remain judging until the polls.
“The chief adviser pointed out that previous elections were only symbolic. Therefore, training for everyone involved must be done in order to conduct ‘real elections’.”
He added: “The role must be clearly defined. If necessary, rehearsal elections should be conducted.”
At the meeting, Yunus stressed the need to verify the availability of the workforce.
“If additional appointments are required, recruitment should be started immediately and adequate training should be arranged.”
He also directed the production of video content that explains voters’ election procedures that will be played on TV and social media for rapid spread.
The chief adviser urged everyone to focus on protecting women’s right to vote. It is also recommended to provide a separate polling station for new voters.
He suggested evaluating whether a “separate voter list” could be created for ages 18 to 33.
“For the past 16 years, voters have not participated in the proper election. They recall the violence and manipulation of the polling stations. In this election, we want voting to be a positive and memorable experience. First time voters should be proud – it should be a moment they cherish.”
The meeting also discussed extensively the law enforcement agencies, identified high-risk voting centers and the role of the military as strike forces.
Bangladesh will have 47,000 voting centers, with about 16,000 potentially “high risk”. Special directives are issued to ensure peaceful voting is conducted in these places.
The discussion also covers the installation of CCTV cameras per center to ensure proper monitoring and training of relevant personnel.
Previously, law enforcement officers deployed within election time for four days. For this election, a seven-day deployment is being planned to maintain orders before, during and after the vote.
Deputy Press Secretary Azad Majumder said Yunus directed officials to investigate the possibility of excluding officials or poll officials from the upcoming elections from the last three elections.
The CA also said the control room will be established at the Upazila, regional and departmental levels. “Police personnel may wear body cameras and may assign responsibilities outside their conventional jurisdiction.”
The media also appeared at the conference. “We have seen cases where we pretend to be media workers who are actually connected to the political party and then participate in the election process. Even real media professionals are unable to perform their duties correctly.
“The media code of conduct should therefore be prepared in advance so that media staff know their boundaries and election officials also understand to what extent media should be accessible.”
Poll observers were also discussed, especially since the upcoming elections have attracted global attention. “We want about 2 million observers. We have made clear instructions to ensure that party workers do not show up as ‘observers’,” he said.
