Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus presided over a high-level meeting on preparations for the upcoming national election scheduled for February, held at the State Guest House Jamuna.
The nearly two-hour-long meeting primarily focused on four key issues election-time postings, training, security matters, and monitoring of disinformation on social media.
About the posting of the officials centering the election, Shafiqul Alam said the home and public administration ministries have already started working on transferring and posting officials based on their competence and the significance of each area.
“Deployment will be made based on merit, physical fitness, efficiency, and impartiality, using a randomised process to prevent bias,” he said, adding that the work in this regard would start from November.
The press secretary, however, said that home affairs adviser informed the meeting that they had already prepared a list of 64 police officers for posting on a random basis as per their competency.
Besides, the Election Commission has already started giving training to the officials who are expected to perform duties during the election, he said.
The press secretary, however, said officials will not be deployed in their home districts or areas where they have close relatives, including in-laws or family members contesting in the election.
He said that the meeting emphasised that the government officers who had been involved in the last three national elections as returning officer, assistant returning officer, or polling official should not be assigned similar election duties this time.
The meeting also put emphasis on completing postings as early as possible to allow sufficient time for officials to prepare and undergo necessary training, Shafiqul Alam said, adding that a major part of the discussion focused on coordination among the government, the Election Commission, and law enforcement agencies.
The meeting also discussed in detailAI, disinformation and misinformation on social media, particularly how to swiftly identify and debunk any false content before it spreads, he said, adding, to tackle this, the meeting decided to form two dedicated bodies—a Central Disinformation Monitoring Cell and a Central Communication Cell—tasked with the responsibility to ensure fact-checking and accurate communication down to the grassroots level."
Shafiqul Alam said that the ICT and cultural affairs ministries were instructed to ensure that misinformation is countered quickly and accurately and that official clarifications are disseminated across social media and television.
About field-level security, the press secretary said that approximately 92,500 personnel from the Army and Navy will be deployed nationwide, with one company stationed in each upazila. Of the total troops, 90,000 will come from Army and remaining from Navy, he added.
Security measures will focus particularly on the 72-hour periods before and after the election day, Shafiqul Alam said, adding, local volunteers will also be mobilised to support law enforcement and ensure community-level security.
About training, he said training programmes are underway for Ansar and other field-level officers.
The Chief Adviser instructed that all training videos and guidelines be made publicly accessible through BTV, Election Commission websites, and social media, Shafiqul Alam said, adding, the Chief Adviser asked to complete the preparatory work by November 15.
He, however, said the Election Commission is mulling repurposing Sangsad Television to broadcast voter education materials, explaining voting procedures, polling center rules, and how citizens should respond to disorderly conduct.
In addition, Shafiqul Alam said, a new mobile application is being developed to facilitate postal voting for three groups—eligible expatriates in the diaspora community, voters in legal custody and officials engaged in election duty.
Chief Adviser’s Senior Assistant Press Secretary Foyez Ahammad and Assistant Press Secretary Shuchismita Tithi were also present at the briefing.
Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, National Security Adviser Dr Khalilur Rahman, Cultural Affairs Adviser Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on Defense and National Solidarity Development Lt Gen (retd) Abdul Hafiz, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser on the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb, Chief Adviser's Principal Secretary M Siraj Uddin Miah, Election Commission Secretary Akhter Ahmed, Home Secretary Nasimul Gani, Cabinet Secretary Dr Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) Lieutenant General SM Kamrul Hassan, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam, RAB Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman, Director General of Bangladesh Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mohammad Ziaul Haque, Director General of Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (Ansar-VDP) Major General Abdul Motaleb Sazzad Mahmud and representatives from NSI, DGFI and SBR attuned the meeting.
–BSS
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