To confront the challenges of holding the parliament election and referendum on the same day, police have launched full-scale security preparations, including an intensive three-day training for 152,000 of its personnel.
Senior officials say the training is designed to ensure security across three phases – before, during and after the vote slated for 12 February next year.
They note that the force will face multi-layered challenges to maintain order in an election anticipated to be fiercely contested and violence-prone in the post-July uprising political landscape.
Authorities say confronting Awami League activists, whose political activities are currently banned, will present a new test of the force’s capacity. They add that navigating political pressure, strengthening operational readiness, countering cyber threats with limited manpower and recovering looted weapons together create additional layers of difficulty.
“Police have never been trained specifically for elections before. This is the first time such a programme is being conducted,” Abu Naser Mohammed Khaled, additional inspector general (HRM) of Police Headquarters, told TIMES of Bangladesh.
He said the training covers election-specific duties, the calibrated use of firearms, human rights, gender issues, observation protocols and professional conduct with journalists. “Officers are also being prepared to operate in high-risk, remote and isolated locations,” he added.
According to officials, the training is being conducted in several phases and is scheduled to be completed by 15 January next year.
Officials at Police Headquarters told TIMES that polling centres have been categorised into three tiers – red (highly risky), yellow (risky) and green (normal). Of these, 8,746 centres have been identified as highly risky nationwide. Dhaka Division has the highest number of such centres (2,675), while Sylhet Division has the lowest (457).
The categorisation was made based on several factors, including the number of voters at each centre, distance from the nearest police station, the dominance of specific political groups in the area and the presence of remote, hilly or char locations.
Police data show there are 16,359 risky centres and 17,656 normal centres across the country.
Election Commission has finalised 42,761 polling centres for the 13th national parliamentary election. Because the national election and the referendum will be held on the same day, the total number of centres or booths may increase, officials added. These centres will have a total of 244,649 rooms — 115,137 for male voters and 129,602 for female voters.
Under the initial deployment plan, three police officers will be stationed at each highly risky centre, two at each risky centre and one at each normal centre. Every officer assigned to polling-centre security will carry a firearm and wear a body-worn camera. In addition, 13 Ansar members will be deployed at every centre.
Bangladesh Army, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and other security agencies will also be on duty as part of the overall security arrangement.
Police training
A total of 152,366 police personnel — from constable to DIG rank — are undergoing the three-day training in phases ahead of election duty. The course, titled “Enhancing the skills and capacity of police personnel for effective election duties,” is being conducted under the theme: “Police will stay in the field, citizens will vote safely.”
Officers are being trained on the election code of conduct, voter rights, EC directives, the legal responsibilities of the police, intelligence gathering and analysis before polling, handling election materials, ensuring security at centres and booths, conducting mock polls, suppressing election violence and managing post-election situations.
Various motivational modules are also included in the training to boost morale.
The programme began with the preparation of master trainers, who then moved on to training field-level officers.
According to officials, the first phase ran from 31 August to 2 September, during which 10 master trainers prepared 146 trainers for the third phase. In the second phase, 160 commanders participated in a workshop on 7 September.
The third phase, held from 16–25 September, saw 156 TOT trainers preparing 1,254 trainers for the fourth phase. In addition, 565 trainers were prepared for body-worn camera operation and 390 trainers for firearms practice.
In the fourth phase, which began on 5 October, 2,365 trainers across 130 district, metropolitan and crime units started training 152,366 personnel of various ranks at suitable venues and schedules within their units.
The curriculum consists of 16 sessions – two documentary-based, ten academic and four practical – covering policy knowledge, legal frameworks, operational preparedness, hands-on exercises, body-worn camera use and firearms training.
By the second week of November, 48,000 personnel had completed the programme. Training for the remaining 100,000 officers is scheduled to conclude by 15 January.
