Election Commission (EC) has cancelled the decision to deploy members of the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) at polling centres during the upcoming 13th parliamentary election and referendum.
EC Deputy Secretary Mohammad Manir Hossain signed the revised directive on Tuesday.
According to the new decision, cadets will instead be tasked with maintaining order at the IT-supported postal ballot (OCV and ICPV) counting centres established at the Returning Officers’ (RO) offices for the election scheduled to take place on 12 February.
Five sections will be stationed at EC Secretariat’s result collection and presentation centre starting from 11 February. The directive stipulates that regiment commanders must finalise the deployment plans in coordination with the respective ROs.
Before being assigned any electoral duties, the competence, neutrality, and political affiliations of BNCC cadets must be thoroughly verified.
Regarding the scale of the operation, 123 sections of the BNCC – each comprising one corporal and ten cadets – will be deployed across the 300 constituencies, with one section allotted for every three constituencies at most.
At the ROs’ offices, the cadets will serve from the day before polling until the announcement of results. Meanwhile, at the EC Secretariat, their duty will span from the day before the election until the final civil results are published.
EC has explicitly stated that the deployed cadets are prohibited from participating in any activities for or against any political party, contesting candidate, or referendum.
Mandatory training will be required before they assume their responsibilities. Regiment commanders are tasked with coordinating with ROs and senior district or upazila election officers to prepare and execute the necessary training programmes.
