The Election Commission (EC) has announced intensified joint security operations to maintain law and order ahead of 13th national parliamentary election and a referendum, warning that any activities disrupting the electoral environment will not be tolerated.

Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah made the remarks on Sunday afternoon during a law and order briefing at the Election Commission auditorium in Dhaka’s Agargaon.

Sanaullah said joint forces operations were already underway and would continue, with regular updates to be provided through press briefings. He noted that nearly 2,000 people were being arrested daily as part of the ongoing drives.

Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin chaired a high-level meeting to review the overall law and order situation ahead of the election and referendum. The meeting began at 2:50pm at the Election Building and was attended by senior officials from key security and intelligence agencies.

Participants included the chief adviser’s principal secretary, the senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the chiefs of the army, navy and air force or their representatives, the principal staff officer of the Armed Forces Division, the inspector general of police, and heads of NSI, DGFI, Coast Guard, Border Guard Bangladesh, Rapid Action Battalion, Ansar and VDP, as well as the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner.

Four election commissioners — Abdur Rahmanel Masud, Tahmida Ahmed, Md Anwarul Islam Sarker and Abul Fazl Md Sanaullah — along with Election Commission Secretary Akhter Ahmed, were also present at the meeting.

Earlier, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, the chief election commissioner held separate meetings at the Election Building with Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman, Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hasan and Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmud Khan.

This marked the first formal meeting between the Election Commission and the three service chiefs since the announcement of the election schedule.