There will be no issue in holding the upcoming elections, Home Affairs Adviser Lieutenant General (Retd.) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury reaffirmed on Monday.
“We are fully prepared for the elections. So, there will be no difficulty for us in holding them,” he told journalists after attending a core committee meeting at the Secretariat.
He added that, due to concerns and doubts about this year’s elections, steps have been taken to train the police. “We are also trying to keep those officers who served in the past three elections away this time.”
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“As part of our preparations, police training is underway, and we discussed its progress. Hopefully, we’ll complete everything on schedule,” he said.
When asked about the purchase of body cameras for police, the adviser said that it is not like we can just go to the market and buy them. There's a proper process.
“I don’t know the price yet, but around Tk 400 crore has been allocated. After further discussions, the price will be finalised — it may be high at first and then adjusted,” he said.
In response to a question on whether four months of training is enough for the police to perform effectively during the election, the adviser referred to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), saying, “The IGP recently said in an interview that the police are capable — and I agree. There will be no problem.”
When asked about the IGP’s comment that delays in holding the election could put Bangladesh at risk, the adviser replied, “If the IGP said it, I support his statement. There are always risks in Bangladesh — of different kinds — but I won’t name any specific one right now.”
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Regarding the recent fire incident, he said that there was a meeting about it (yesterday) on Sunday, but I wasn’t present.
“Several committees have been formed to investigate the cause. Once their findings are in, we’ll know more. Until then, I can't say anything,” the adviser said.