3G, 4G services shut down in Bangladesh ahead of elections

Hours before election campaigning in Bangladesh comes to a close, 3G and 4G services were shut down on mobile phones across the country as part of what was seen as enhanced security measures. Elections will be held on December 30 in Bangladesh, where the ruling Awami League party, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is facing an anti-incumbency challenge from the Jatiyo Oikyo Front, an Opposition alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party — whose leader Khaleda Zia is in jail on corruption charges. Late on Thursday, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) asked all mobile network operators to block their 3G and 4G services across the country instantly. Only 2G services (both voice and data) will remain active. The order will be in place until further instructions are given. Earlier on Thursday, Awami League president and Bangladesh PM Hasina urged all party leaders and activists to guard polling centres across the country. “You’ve to guard every polling centre so that they (the BNP-Jamaat alliance) can’t conduct terrorist activities, because they haven’t changed their character. They believe in militancy and terrorism,” she said. Calling upon all to stage a vote revolution, Jatiyo Oikyo Front chief Kamal Hossain said on Thursday, “We won in the past; we’ll achieve victory this time, too. December 30 will be another Victory Day after December 16,” he said at a press conference. Bangladesh celebrates Victory Day on December 16 to commemorate victory over Pakistani forces in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Meanwhile, journalists covering the December 30 national election will be able to use motorcycles, the Election Commission announced. The EC withdrew the ban on motorcycles a week after imposing it, following severe criticism from journalists. Source: Indian Express