Bangladesh elections: Over 50% polling centres considered 'risky', CCTV installed at most stations

Bangladesh's upcoming elections face over 50% risky polling centres, with extensive law enforcement and technology deployed for security.

More than half the polling centres have been identified as "risk-prone" for the general elections in Bangladesh, as officials said 90% of them will be under CCTV surveillance, with many policemen deployed in the capital, Dhaka, wearing body cameras.

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Officials said the Election Commission's security system is based on risk assessment. “Security deployment is being made based on local sensitivity assessments,” Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah told a media briefing late Tuesday.

EC officials said the elections would witness the largest-ever deployment of law enforcement personnel and the most extensive use of technology in the country's electoral history.

Mr. Sanaullah said the poll body expected law enforcement agencies to ensure a peaceful atmosphere for voters during polling and after elections.

He said the EC was largely satisfied with the current law-and-order situation and “compared to any time in the past, we are in a better position now”.