Zakir Hossain / Dhaka
Bangladesh’s Election Commission (EC) has formally told the government that it has no role in arranging CCTV cameras at polling centres or body cameras for police during the upcoming 13th national elections.
In a letter signed by EC deputy secretary Rashedul Islam to the senior secretary of the home ministry, the commission said the matter was beyond its jurisdiction. The reply referred to the August 6 home ministry meeting, where logistics for law enforcement were discussed, noting under agenda item No. 9 that there was “nothing to be done” from the EC’s end.
This comes despite Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ July 9 directive to explore CCTV coverage at vulnerable centres. EC Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah, however, reiterated on multiple occasions that CCTV was neither “practical nor justifiable.” “You can’t just rent cameras for a single day, and purchasing them is not reasonable,” he said on August 7, pointing out that 45,000 polling centres would require huge numbers of cameras. “Where will you store them after purchase? How will you justify such an expense? Several proposals have come, but none are workable,” he added.
By contrast, Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has spoken in favour of cameras for both polling stations and police. The national election is slated for the first half of February 2026, with preparations to be completed by December.