Troops have been deployed across Bangladesh on Wednesday amid concerns of potential violence ahead of a national election, which the main opposition party is boycotting.
Soldiers have been traveling in armored vehicles to temporary camps set up across the capital Dhaka to assist the civil administration in maintaining peace and security.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has decided to boycott the election, scheduled for Sunday, after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina refused to meet their demands for her resignation and the transfer of power to a neutral authority for running the poll.
Hasina has consistently blamed the BNP for inciting anti-government protests that have shaken Dhaka since late October, resulting in at least 10 deaths.
The military stated that the troops will only take action upon the request of polling officers.
The navy has been deployed in two coastal districts, and the air force will be providing helicopter assistance to polling stations in remote hilly areas, according to the military.
Concerns have been raised by the public that the violence experienced in Bangladesh over the past two months could resurface after the election.
“I don’t care which party is in power. I just want some peace so that I can earn and feed my family,” said Abdul Hamid, 48, a rickshaw puller in Dhaka. “I don’t think after the election there will be peace. If there is political turmoil, it is difficult for us to survive. This is not a way of running a country. We are so confused about our future.”
Hasina, who has maintained tight control since coming to power in 2009, has been accused of authoritarianism, human rights violations, cracking down on free speech, and suppressing dissent while imprisoning her critics.
Her main rival and two-time premier, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, is effectively under house arrest due to what her party calls fabricated corruption charges. Her son and BNP’s acting chairman, Tarique Rahman, is in exile after several charges were brought against him, which he denies.
Hasina’s government is facing pressure from Western countries to hold free and fair elections.
(Reporting by Ruma Paul and Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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