The Election Commission (EC) has announced that a proposal has been made to deploy law enforcement agencies for eight days before and after the 13th national parliamentary election.

"Law enforcement would be deployed three days before the election, on election day, and for four days afterward," EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters following a preparatory meeting on law and order held at its headquarters in Dhaka's Agargaon this morning.

During the election period, the forces have proposed deploying 150,000 police personnel, 90,000 to 100,000 members of the armed forces, and around 550,000 to 600,000 members of the Ansar. In response, the EC has informed the forces that the proposal is under review and verification.

Secretary Akhtar added, "The EC initially planned to deploy law enforcement for five days during the election. However, during today's meeting, a proposal was made to extend it to eight days. This will be reviewed and examined."

The meeting started at 10:30am and ended at 1:45pm. The EC secretary noted that no specific directives were issued to law enforcement agencies during the meeting.

He mentioned that preventing the misuse of AI, banning the use of drones, and equipping police with body-cams were discussed.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and attended by all four election commissioners, the home secretary, the EC secretary, and representatives from various law enforcement agencies.

When asked about the topics discussed, Secretary Akhtar said the discussions focused on polling centres, election officials, security at the polling stations, the number of centres, overall electoral security, and the development of a coordinated action plan for nationwide law and order during the election.

He also mentioned that controlling illegal arms and ensuring the safety of foreign journalists and observers were discussed.

In response to a question about whether the armed forces would be deployed with civil magistracy powers during the election, the secretary said, "This is under discussion. 'In aid to civil power' is included, but we will ensure this does not conflict with the Representation of the People Order (RPO)."

When asked whether law enforcement agencies perceive any risks surrounding the election and whether the current law and order situation is conducive to holding elections, he responded, "The election period spans from the announcement of the schedule to the publication of the gazette. Our discussions focused within that timeframe. There is currently no scope to discuss beyond that, nor did we."

"I did not observe any concern among them. Rather, I saw a commitment to conducting a good election. They [law enforcement] are providing us with the highest level of support they can," he said.

Asked whether the environment is suitable for holding elections, Akhtar said, "There is definitely an environment suitable for holding elections, and today's discussion was meant to further strengthen that environment. These discussions will continue."

The 13th national parliamentary election is expected to take place in the first half of February, before Ramadan. The election schedule is expected to be announced by the EC in the first half of December.