As soldiers took over law and order on Sunday at the behest of Bangladesh’s interim government doubts about the fair conduct of national elections, now set for Jan 23, have only deepened. Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed called out troops late on Saturday night, ignoring the advice of his cabinet members.

Troops are now patrolling the capital as well as the headquarters of 63 other districts across the country. The decision to deploy the army came as the rival political camps, one led by Begum Khaleda Zia, who demitted office as PM on Oct 28, and the other by former PM Sheikh Hasina Wajed, continued to bicker over the reconstitution of the Election Commission (EC), casting a shadow over the conduct of elections for the country’s ninth parliament.

A top official in the interior ministry said: “We’ve decided to deploy the army in aid of the civil administration to maintain law and order.” But the decision was taken apparently to the dissatisfaction of members of the interim cabinet who argued that it was not the proper time to deploy troops. A former army chief and a respected member of the interim government, Hasan Mashhud, was among those who have openly disagreed with the decision.

“None of the advisers (cabinet members) wanted deployment of troops right at the moment, but the chief adviser (also the President) to the interim government insisted on it,” one of the 11-member interim cabinet said. The members are continuing to hold backstage parleys with the feuding political camps to resolve the standoff that is still centred on the reconstitution of the EC. Sheikh Hasina, who leads the Awami League party that is supported by over a dozen other political parties, has been on the streets since October demanding, besides a revamped EC, the updating of voters’ rolls, rescheduling of polls, and a reshuffle of the bureaucracy to ensure “free and fair polls.” The members of the interim cabinet managed to settle most issues but failed on the demand for a newly appointed EC, as both Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami League remained rigid in their respective positions.

Prof. Ataur Rahman, who teaches political science at Dhaka University, said that the feuding parties could have settled all those issues much earlier. “I feel the parties lack the skills for negotiation - there is no other alternative to a credible election and if the elections are not held on time, these parties will be the biggest losers,” Rahman, who is also the president of the Bangladesh Political Science Association, said.

Similar opinions were expressed by the president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mir Nasir Hossain, in blaming the politicians for creating a situation in which the army had to be called out. “The situation has led to the deployment of army although it’s not desirable in a democratic society.

Army cannot be the alternative to democracy,” he said. At least 45 people have been killed and hundreds injured in clashes between rival political activists since late October when the coalition government led by Khaleda Zia handed over power to the interim caretaker government. Under the Bangladeshi constitution a caretaker government must hold elections within 90 days of taking power. — IPS