Jamaat demands EC lift mobile ban by 5 pm or face protest

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has demanded the repeal of the Election Commission’s directive banning the use of mobile phones within 400 yards of polling centres during the 13th National Parliamentary Election.

The party warned that if the directive is not withdrawn by 5:00 pm on Monday (February 9), it will stage a protest and surround the Election Commission building.

The statement was made by the party’s Assistant Secretary General, Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Jubayer, on Monday afternoon.

Meanwhile, with only two days remaining until the parliamentary election and the referendum, the Election Commission issued a new regulation. Under the directive, no one will be allowed to bring mobile phones to polling centres, except for three categories of personnel, including the presiding officer.

The directive, issued on Sunday (February 8) by EC Senior Assistant Secretary Md Shahidul Islam, states that during the election and referendum, no one will be allowed to carry a mobile phone within a 400-yard radius of a polling centre except for the presiding officer in charge, the police officer on duty, and two Ansar members (including embedded/general Ansar or VDP) using the “Election Security 2026” application.