No entry to polling centres with mobile phones: EC

The Election Commission (EC) has imposed a ban on carrying mobile phones into polling centres on the day of the 13th National Parliamentary Election and referendum.

The decision was announced in a letter signed by Md Shahidul Islam, senior assistant secretary of the EC’s Election Management and Coordination-1 Wing, on Sunday (February 8).

The letter has been sent to divisional commissioners, regional election officers, and all deputy commissioners and returning officers.

According to the directive, no individual will be allowed to enter within a 400-yard radius of a polling centre with a mobile phone on February 12, 2026, except for a limited number of authorised officials.

Those exempted from the restriction include the presiding officer of the polling centre, the officer-in-charge of the centre’s security, and two designated Ansar members authorised to use the ‘Election Security 2026’ mobile application.

The EC instructed the concerned authorities to take necessary measures to ensure strict enforcement of the directive.

Polling will take place from 7:30am to 4:30pm on February 12.

A total of 127,695,183 voters are registered for the upcoming election, including 64,814,907 male voters, 62,879,042 female voters, and 1,234 voters from the third gender.

The Election Commission has finalised 42,761 polling centres across the country. These centres will have 115,137 booths for male voters and 129,602 booths for female voters, bringing the total number of booths to 244,649.

As the parliamentary election and referendum will be held on the same day, the EC has decided to increase the number of secret voting booths.