As a single constituency, Brahmanbaria-3 (Sadar) has the highest number of vulnerable polling centres in the 13th parliamentary election, with 121 centres classified as “highly risky”, according to police assessments.
The constituency has a total of 192 polling centres.
At the district level, Kishoreganj has the highest number of vulnerable centres, with 438 of its 887 polling centres across six constituencies marked as highly risky.
Within the divisions, Dhaka tops the list, with 2,944 polling centres identified as highly risky. The division has a total of 10,162 polling centres.
The assessments were carried out by the Special Branch (SB) of the police based on factors including political violence, the influence of musclemen, long distances from police stations, difficult terrain, the dominance of particular political parties in certain areas, poor transport links and inactive community policing.
Of the country’s 42,761 polling centres, 8,226 have been classified as highly risky ahead of the election, according to the list.
Among the other divisions, Chattogram has the second-highest number of risky polling centres (1,463), followed by Rangpur (1,010), Rajshahi (890), Mymensingh (742), Sylhet (681), Khulna (606) and Barishal (596).
Three police personnel will be deployed at the highly risky centres, said Rezaul Karim, deputy inspector general (operations) of Police Headquarters (PHQ). The police members would be equipped with a firearm and body-worn camera. In addition, 13 Ansar members will be deployed at the centre.
Another report prepared by the SB says at least 79 incidents of clashes took place, in which more than 300 people were injured since the declaration of the election schedule.
At least 10 people have been killed by gunshots in 34 incidents since the election schedule was declared.
The highest number of shooting incidents took place in Dhaka division (9), followed by Chattogram (7), the report added.
Police would take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of disorder around polling centres, Rezaul said.
Any mob, illegal gathering or assembly around polling centres will be dealt with firmly, he said, adding that the police will act in a completely neutral manner to ensure a free and fair election.
“No one will be given even an inch of leeway. People should not be frightened. Our request is simple: everyone should come out to vote,” he said, while urging voters not to be misled or intimidated by misinformation spread on social media.
Ahead of the election, the PHQ issued a written directive instructing field officials to ensure professionalism and responsible conduct.
It clearly instructs police personnel not to show bias towards any political party, candidate or supporter and to maintain neutrality in dealing with all stakeholders during the polls.
The directive also imposes strict restrictions on the use of social media and mobile phones while on duty.
Police members are barred from making comments, posting photos or expressing opinions related to the election on Facebook or any other platform.
Political posts, comments or shares are also prohibited.
Unnecessary use of mobile phones during duty hours is not allowed and personal phone use on polling day has been banned.
The instruction stresses that any instance of fake voting or violation of the electoral code of conduct must be dealt with immediately under the law, while the use of force is permitted only if the situation goes out of control.
Police members have also been directed to ensure strict law enforcement within a 400-yard radius of polling centres, where smoking and the carrying of flammable materials, including matchsticks and lighters, are completely prohibited.
Meanwhile, police have heightened security around the transportation and storage of ballot papers and election materials following intelligence reports of possible sabotage attempts during their delivery.