40% of polling centers flagged as risky: how they’re identified

Law enforcement has labeled over 40% of Bangladesh’s 42,761 polling centers as risky; density is highest in Dhaka’s 15 city constituencies. Police told the EC that 1,614 of 2,131 centers in Dhaka city are risky. At a 7 Feb Army briefing on Dhaka‑14, 16, and 18 security, Dhaka‑14 and Dhaka‑16 were tagged “high-risk” seats.

How risky centers are chosen

• Past incidents: violence, vandalism, ballot snatching
• Geography: hill tracts, chars, border or hard-to-reach areas
• Proximity to a powerful leader’s or candidate’s home
• Weak infrastructure or no boundary walls
• Fragile transport where forces cannot reach quickly

Regional EC officer Yunus Ali says the list was made on these criteria and security planned accordingly. Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud said returning officers will add extra security where they deem centers risky.

Dhaka center counts (risky per constituency)

• City area: 2,131 centers; 1,614 risky
• Dhaka‑18: 189/218
• Dhaka‑4: 93/115; Dhaka‑5: 136/150; Dhaka‑6: 79/100; Dhaka‑7: 118/164; Dhaka‑8: 87/108; Dhaka‑9: 130/169; Dhaka‑10: 90/136; Dhaka‑11: 128/162; Dhaka‑12: 73/130; Dhaka‑13: 110/138; Dhaka‑14: 124/153; Dhaka‑15: 83/127; Dhaka‑16: 11/137; Dhaka‑17: 63/124
• Outside city (5 seats): 893 centers; 68 high-risk, 32 risky, 793 general

Security plan

• Extra forces and CCTV at risky centers; body-worn cameras on police
• Armed forces deployed with police for the first time; 100k+ personnel nationwide
• General centers: 2 armed police plus Ansar/VDP/village police
• Non-metro risky centers: 3–4 armed police (Ansar/VDP/village police same numbers)
• Metro risky centers: 4 armed police
• Total police: 157,000 on duty; 30,000 support; 88% of force deployed
• 25,000+ body cams (15,000 online, 10,000 offline)

Monitoring

Monitoring teams will send updates every two hours; CCTV where power exists; a fact-finding cell counters social-media rumors.