The number of voters in Bangladesh’s upcoming 13th national parliamentary elections is expected to increase to 12.75 crore, necessitating the establishment of more than 2,500 additional polling stations.
Officials from the Election Commission’s (EC) electoral support division said a coordination meeting will be held soon to finalize the number of polling stations based on updated voter data. The meeting is also expected to address issues related to polling station management and the deployment of law enforcement.
According to the working paper for the meeting, there were 12,37,40,374 registered voters in the 12th parliamentary elections. A total of 42,148 polling stations were used for those elections.
Following the completion of the 2025 voter list update, the projected number of eligible voters now stands at 12,74,88,983. To accommodate the additional voters, the number of polling stations may need to increase by 2,786, bringing the total to approximately 44,934.
In the previous 12th national election, 26 temporary polling centers and 17,723 temporary polling rooms were established. That number is also likely to rise in the upcoming polls.
Recently, the EC issued instructions to several ministries and departments for repairing polling centers. These include the Secondary and Higher Education Division; the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives; the Technical and Madrasa Education Division under the Ministry of Education; and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. The directive was also sent to the chief engineers of the Local Government Engineering Department and the Education Engineering Department.
In a circular signed by EC Deputy Secretary Dewan Md Sarwar Jahan, it was stated that some of the schools used as polling centers during past national elections—and some newly proposed sites—lack boundary walls. In other cases, windows and doors are in a state of disrepair. Educational institutions lacking perimeter fencing or requiring minor repairs must be refurbished using funds from their respective ministries or divisions.
EC officials said once the number of polling centers is finalized, law enforcement deployment will be adjusted accordingly.
In the 12th parliamentary elections, a total of 7,47,322 personnel were deployed for election security. This included 5,16,000 members of the Ansar force, 2,350 personnel from the Coast Guard, 46,876 from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), and 1,82,091 police officers, including members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
For allowances, Ansar members received between Tk 637 and Tk 1,000 each; Coast Guard personnel were allocated between Tk 637 and Tk 1,820; BGB members received between Tk 400 and Tk 1,225; and police were paid between Tk 400 and Tk 1,606 each.
The increase in polling stations is expected to raise election management costs. These will be covered from existing allocations.
The interim government has already earmarked Tk 2,956 crore in the national budget for the Election Commission. Of this, Tk 2,726.95 crore is for operational expenses, while Tk 229.05 crore is allocated for development purposes. These funds cover the 13th parliamentary elections as well as other electoral activities.
Election Commissioner Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah stated, “Around 44 lakh new voters may be added this time. With the increase in voters, polling stations and expenses will also rise. However, we expect it will remain within the allocated budget. There should be no problem.”
SMS/
