The Armed Forces Division (AFD) in a proposal earlier sought the power for the army, navy and the air force for seven days including the polling day to ensure a peaceful atmosphere and security of voters in light of the existing law and order situation.

Responding to the proposal, the EC finally asked the home ministry yesterday to issue a notification to allow the armed forces to have the authority as they had desired in addition to the power they already have to arrest any person within a radius of four hundred yards of a polling station on the polling day.

The EC in its letter to the home ministry however did not specify the time limit for allowing the armed forces to exercise the new power.

The home ministry will decide for how many days the armed forces will be allowed to exercise the power.

But sources in the EC said the armed forces will enjoy the power for 20 days from January 10, the day of their deployment across the country on election duties.

President and Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday directed the armed forces to carry out their assigned duties for holding the January 22 parliamentary election in a fair manner. The president gave the instruction when Army Chief Lt Gen Moeen U Ahmed called on him in Bangabhaban in the afternoon.

Being legally empowered, the army, navy and the air force will be able to take actions against any person if the person is guilty of unduly influencing or compelling any other person to vote or to refrain from voting, directly or indirectly, by himself or herself or by any other person on his or her behalf.

"The Election Commission has agreed with the proposal considering the prevailing situation centring the parliamentary election," EC Secretary Abdur Rashid Sarkar told The Daily Star yesterday, terming the security of voters as crucial following Awami League-led grand alliance's announcement of boycotting and resisting the election.

Meanwhile, AFD held a meeting yesterday morning and finalised the plan for deployment of troops from January 10 as decided earlier. About 60,000 troops will be deployed, sources said.

Two senior officials of the EC Secretariat yesterday afternoon met the home secretary and handed over the EC's letter to him allowing the armed forces to have the additional power. They also discussed the law and order situation.

Sources said the meeting decided to send the ballot papers and other election materials to the polling centres from January 19 amid tight security provided by the armed forces and police.

The letter asked the home ministry to issue directives allowing the armed forces to take legal actions including arrest of any person without a warrant before, during, and for a few days after the election.

The letter however did not clarify whether other law enforcement agencies will also enjoy the additional power like the armed forces.

The home ministry will now issue fresh instructions amending the previous circular issued by it on January 3.

Instructed by the EC, its secretariat also sent copies of the letter to the office of the chief adviser, to the principal staff officer (PSO) of AFD, and to the inspector general of police, sources said.

According to the existing electoral laws, a member of any law enforcement agency including the army, navy and the air force shall have the power to arrest any person without a warrant for maintenance of peace, law and order in a polling station or within a radius of four hundred yards of a polling station on the polling day.

The power given to the armed forces, for the first time through a controversial ordinance in 2001, also allows them to take actions against any activity that goes against the electoral code of conduct.

AFD now has an additional authority of exercising this power all over the constituencies, which will have the polls on January 22.

The armed forces, which will act as mobile strike forces, however will handover the arrestees to the police.

According to the election laws, the armed forces can also themselves remove or issue orders to remove multi-coloured posters or portraits of candidates, campaign gates and arches, barricades, banners, microphones, loudspeakers, and decorative campaign illuminations, and can paint over graffiti on walls.