Drones Deployed for Nationwide Election Security

For the first time in the country’s history, drones will be used nationwide to ensure election security. A total of 428 drones will be deployed in a coordinated manner to monitor 42,761 polling centres across Bangladesh.

Of these, 418 drones will be operated by various law enforcement agencies during the election. The Bangladesh Army will deploy 200 drones, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) will use 100, the Bangladesh Police will operate 50, and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) will deploy 16 drones. In addition, the Bangladesh Navy will use 16 drones, the Coast Guard 20, and the Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party (VDP) will operate 16 drones.

Alongside drone surveillance, 25,000 body-worn cameras will be used by police personnel at highly important and important polling centres. CCTV cameras will be installed at every polling station across the country.

The information was shared on Monday, January 19, following a meeting of the Law and Order Advisory Committee held at the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Secretariat. Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury briefed the media after the meeting.

He said that the most effective tool for maintaining law and order in the upcoming election will be the “Election Security App–2026”, developed by the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC). In addition to CCTV coverage, the adviser confirmed that 428 drones and dog squads will be deployed by different law enforcement agencies to ensure election security.

To maintain law and order, security forces will be deployed nationwide in two phases. From polling-centre security to mobile and striking forces, all operations will remain under the coordination of the Returning Officer. A related circular was issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on January 6, he added.

According to officials, during the second phase, from February 8 to February 14, law enforcement personnel will be assigned polling-centre-based duties for seven days. An Integrated Law and Order Coordination Cell will be formed comprising representatives from the police, Ansar VDP, armed forces, BGB, Coast Guard, and RAB.

The Home Affairs Adviser further said that, on the occasion of the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum, a special team will be formed under the emergency service number 999 to provide round-the-clock support. This team will be directly linked to the Law and Order Coordination Cell and will promptly forward election-related complaints or information to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the relevant local coordination cells for immediate action.

DBTech/IH/EK/OR