TDS Desk:

The Election Commission (EC) has informed the government that it cannot do anything to arrange CCTV cameras at polling centres or body cameras for police during the upcoming 13th national elections.

In a letter, signed by EC Deputy Secretary Rashedul Islam, the commission said the matter is not under its jurisdiction.

The letter was recently sent to the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which had earlier sought to know what the EC can do on the issue.

The EC’s reply referred to the 6 August meeting at the home ministry, where logistics and planning for law enforcement agencies were discussed.

According to the commission, in response to agenda item No 9 regarding CCTV and body cameras, it has decided there is “nothing to be done” from its end.

Earlier on 9 July, during a preparation meeting, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus gave a number of instructions to all concerned, including finding ways to ensure peaceful polling at vulnerable centres and bringing polling stations under CCTV coverage.

Despite this directive, Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah told reporters that the EC was not considering the use of CCTV.

Meanwhile, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has spoken in favour of equipping both polling centres and police officers with cameras.

On 7 August, Sanaullah said again that the EC did not find the idea of CCTV coverage in elections to be practical or justifiable.

“We are working on this, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. We have already held three to four meetings. You can’t just rent cameras for a single day, and purchasing them is not reasonable,” he said.

“With 45,000 polling centres, think how many cameras would be required? Where will you store them after purchase? How will you justify such an expense? Several proposals have come, but none are workable,” the commissioner added.

The national election is scheduled to be held in the first half of February next year. The interim government aims to complete all necessary preparations by December.