The deployment of army will not deliver the goods if the Election Commission (EC) fails to play a neutral role, experts told the FE on Wednesday.
Members of the armed forces have been stationed across the country to help the civil administration maintain law and order during the December 30 general election.
"The EC is supervising the administration. If it's not proactive in ensuring a fair election, the army presence won't give any benefit," said local government experts Dr Tofail Ahmed.
"The electoral situation is not satisfactory as we find reports of attacks on opposition candidates daily," he told the FE.
Allegations have also been raised against law-enforcement agencies that they are favouring the ruling party and harassing their opponents, Dr Ahmed said.
"If the police don't play a neutral role, what others can do?" he posed a question.
There will be confrontation between the two if one wants to take action against irregularity and others want to allow it, the analyst argued.
"Previously, we've seen that in some areas army played a pivotal role when they sensed any untoward incidents."
"In 2001," Dr Ahmed said, "they took some steps in Narayanganj before the election which forced the terrorists to refrain from any wrongdoing."
This time, they are deployed in aid of the civil administration, so scope for their becoming proactive is very limited, he pointed out.
The EC has to instruct them when any wrongdoing is reported to it, Dr Ahmed mentioned.
Meanwhile, former election commissioner Brig Gen (retd) Shakhwat Hussain said the army was included in 2001 and 2008 as a law-enforcement agency.
The army could take proactive measures to handle a situation like other law-enforcers, he told the FE.
But this time they are deployed in aid of the civil administration as Representation of the People Order has been amended.
As per law, they cannot act on their own to tackle a situation without the order of a civil magistrate concerned, Mr Hussain said.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said people want to see a free, fair and credible election.
"Army has been deployed to have a positive impact. I hope the administration, law-enforcement agencies and the army will play their due role in ensuring fair polls," he said.
It is to be noted that army have been deployed on December 24 in most parts of the country to assist the administration in ensuring security during voting.
The troopers, deployed in 389 out of about 500 sub-districts will stay until January 02.
According to the Inter Service Public Relations of the Bangladesh Army, members of the Bangladesh Navy were also posted in 18 coastal sub-districts.
A total of 1,016 platoons (35 members in each platoon) of Border Guard Bangladesh are also in position in different border sub-districts to thwart any incident.
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