Superintendents of Police (SPs) and officers-in-charge (OCs) of different police stations across the country will be transferred through a lottery system ahead of the upcoming 13th parliamentary election, said Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury on Wednesday.

“SPs and OCs will be given new postings through a lottery system before the election and all relevant officials will be transferred through this process,” said the adviser.

The Home Adviser came up with the disclosure while talking to reporters after a meeting at the Secretariat, held to finalise operational plans for law enforcement agencies to ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming national election.

The lottery for appointing Superintendents of Police (SPs) will be held at the Home Ministry, the adviser said, adding that a similar lottery will be conducted for the posting of OCs, based on departmental divisions. The appointments of both SPs and OCs will be finalised through this lottery system a few days before the announcement of the election schedule.

Referring to the Chief Adviser’s address to the nation, Jahangir said, “The Chief Adviser has already announced that preparations for the election have begun. Today’s discussion is a continuation of that.” The meeting also discussed the logical support required during the election period, he added.

Mentioning that deputy commissioners (DCs), SPs, Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) and OCs play a crucial role during elections, the adviser said, adding, “Candidates demand officials of their preference in their constituencies during elections. So, we have decided to hold the lottery publicly in front of the media to ensure neutrality.”

After the announcement of the election schedule, matters relating to transfers and postings will fall under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission (EC). “We will do our job and if the EC wants to make any changes, they will be able to do so.”

Regarding the postings of DCs, the adviser said, “The Ministry of Public Administration will decide how to handle the DCs’ postings. We hope they will follow a similar approach.”

Mentioning that each polling centre should get one body camera, the adviser said, “How many forces will be needed to conduct the election properly was also discussed at the meeting and we will try to provide a body camera there. Discussions were held on how to purchase it and who will keep it.”

When asked who would use the body cameras, the Home Ministry boss said, “We will try to provide one body camera for each of the 47,000 polling centres. The senior-most police officer at the centre will carry the body camera.”

More importantly, he said, 8 lakh law enforcement personnel will be on duty in the upcoming elections and all of them will receive training. Necessary arrangements will also be made so that presiding officers can stay at the polling centres instead of at someone’s houses, he said adding “They will be accompanied by members of Ansar, police and other forces.” He mentioned that all law enforcement agencies will receive training ahead of the election.  

“We have requested the Election Commission to arrange training for polling and presiding officers. After their training, we will conduct mock drills involving law enforcement members to ensure smooth election operations. Each force will train its members in their respective venues,” the adviser added.

Asked whether there is any measure to deal with vote rigging allegations against any police, the adviser said, “We will do our best to ensure a fair election. With your (media’s) cooperation, I believe there will be no problems.”

On Tuesday, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus said he, on behalf of the interim government, will send a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner so that the Election Commission can hold the national election before the next Ramadan in February next.