The Election Commission (EC) convened its first inter-ministerial pre-preparatory meeting today to coordinate overall election arrangements ahead of the 13th National Parliamentary Election, expected in the first half of February next year.
The session was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and attended by heads of 31 ministries and divisions, including the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bank, and the ministries of Home, Public Administration, Law, Education, Local Government, and Posts and Telecommunications.
The meeting focused on a wide range of election preparations, including the establishment of 42,761 polling centres nationwide, transportation of electronic voting machines and materials, deployment of 9–10 lakh polling officials and 7–8 lakh law enforcement personnel, law and order, voter awareness campaigns, healthcare, disaster management, postal voting, campaign monitoring, AI-based misinformation control, and ensuring the safety of minorities and communities.
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters that about 90–95% of preparations have already been completed, with all activities proceeding according to the EC’s roadmap. The election schedule is expected to be announced in December.
Representatives from key agencies such as the Post Office, Bangladesh Television, Bangladesh Betar, Civil Aviation Authority, Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), and Education Engineering Department were also present.
The EC emphasized close coordination among ministries to ensure a free, fair, and secure voting process, while remaining fully prepared to tackle emergencies, infrastructure challenges, and logistical hurdles.
