Bangladesh on high alert ahead of pollsBangladesh has imposed the tightest security clampdown ever seen in the country as it prepares for polls on Monday that will restore democracy after two years of emergency government.
Some 50,000 military personnel and 6,000 of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) force have been deployed nationwide to prevent pre-election violence and combat the threat of attacks by Islamic militants.
"We are fully prepared to make the polls the most peaceful ever," RAB director general Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said. "The campaigns have largely been violence-free and we hope the voting will be peaceful."
More than 600,000 police and paramilitary officers will patrol polling booths to guard against intimidation or rigging -- problems that have dogged previous elections and led to the state of emergency.
