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Thousands of police deployed to guard ‘risky’ polling centres

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Since gaining independence from Pakistan in a bloody civil war in December 1971, Bangladesh has held 11 elections.

However, these elections may be the most consequential in the nation’s history when it comes to the region’s political situation.

Since August 2024, when student-led protests ousted PM Hasina after 15 years in power and she fled for India, the country has moved significantly closer to Pakistan.

This shift comes at the expense of ties with India, which was the primary backer of Hasina and her now-barred Awami League party.

Two days before the election, Bangladesh’s police chief had said that more than 150,000 officers are being deployed, warning that more than half of polling stations today have been flagged as vulnerable to violence.

“We are 1,000 percent confident about doing our part,” Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam told reporters in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Alam said police had assessed that “more than 24,000 polling centres have been marked as either high-risk or moderately risky” for possible unrest, violence or ballot stuffing.

“The location of some centres is very remote, and there is intense competition and hostility among candidates and their supporters,” he said, adding that 1,300 police guns looted during the 2024 unrest have still not been recovered.

“In high-risk and moderately risky centres, police will carry out patrol duty with body-worn cameras for the first time.”

Police records show that five people were killed and more than 600 were injured in political clashes during the campaign period from December 11 to February 9.

Rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra counted 158 people killed and more than 7,000 injured in political violence between August 2024 and December 2025.

Bangladesh’s Prothom Alo news outlet has reported that three people have been injured after an explosive was thrown at the Reshma International School polling station in Gopalganj.

According to police officer Jahidul Islam, who was on duty at the polling station, voting was going peacefully until culprits threw cocktails from across the canal outside the school.

The attack injured two of Bangladesh’s Ansar paramilitary members and 14-year-old Amena Khanam, who was accompanying a voter.

The explosion spread panic among the voters. The police said the main gate of the polling station was partially damaged.

-AlJazeera

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