EC Demands Extra Security as Unrest Grips Bangladesh Afresh

The EC simultaneously sought extra security for its field-level offices ahead of the 13th national elections; as two of these offices were attacked by unidentified miscreants in southeastern Lakshmipur and southwestern Pirojpur on Thursday after the upcoming election schedule was announced.

While the commission requested an additional escort vehicle for MSK, a police escort with vehicle was also available for him. 24-hour police escort was requested for the four commissioners and the senior secretary.

While the letter stated that increased security measures were “urgent and necessary”, EC officials said that 10 regional offices, 64 regional election offices and 522 sub-district level offices would store important documents and election materials.

While the EC announced on Thursday that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be held on February 12 next year, a day later, Şerif Osman Hadi, who started his election campaign from a constituency in the capital, was shot in the head at close range and seriously injured.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who is in critical condition, has also asked the government of Mohammed Younis to ensure the safety of all candidates in the upcoming elections following the attack on Hadi, who leads a radical right-wing cultural group called Inquiab Mancha.

BNP General Secretary Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said, “We demand that the real culprit is immediately identified and brought before the law and appeal to this government to ensure the safety of all candidates without delay.” he said.

Hadi was also one of the leaders at the forefront of the violent student-led uprising last year that toppled the Awami League government of then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024.

His Inquilab Mancha has also been at the forefront of the campaign to dissolve the Awami League, which the interim government complied with in May this year, preventing the party from contesting elections.

The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security crackdown dubbed ‘Operation Devil Hunt 2’ amid growing fears about law and order and promised to issue firearms licenses to election candidates for their own safety.

Home affairs advisor (retd) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to provide private security for the “frontline fighters” of the July Uprising and promised to issue firearms licenses to election candidates.

He emphasized that the second phase of the ‘Devil Hunt’ aims to help ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal weapons.

The operation was first launched in February this year, following protests over an attack on the private home of a former minister of the ousted government in the capital’s northern suburb, targeting “henchmen” and supporters of the now-disbanded Awami League.