Prothom Alo Survey: Most people view the army’s role positively

Most people in the country believe that the army played a positive role during the July mass uprising. They are also satisfied with the army’s role in maintaining law and order from the post–mass uprising period up to the present.

The majority of people further believe that the army’s role in maintaining law and order from now until the election period will be satisfactory. For this reason, they think it would be “good” if the army extends its support in the upcoming national election as well.

These views emerged from the “National Public Opinion Survey on Important Socio-Political Issues–2025,” conducted at the initiative of Prothom Alo. The survey was carried out for Prothom Alo by the private research organisation Keymakers Consulting Limited.

In the survey, respondents were asked: How was the role of the army during the July mass uprising? In response, 52.2 per cent said the army’s role was good, while another 17.1 per cent said it was extremely good—meaning a total of 69.3 per cent were satisfied with the army’s role during the mass uprising.

Meanwhile, 23.2 per cent felt that the army’s role at that time was neither good nor bad. However, 6.2 per cent believed the army’s role during the mass uprising was bad, and 1.3 per cent said it was very bad.

Another question in the survey asked: How was the army’s role in maintaining law and order from the post–mass uprising period up to now? In response, 58.9 per cent said the army’s role during this period was good. Another 15.1 per cent felt it was very good. Combined, 74 per cent expressed satisfaction with the army’s role.

However, 17.7 per cent did not describe the army’s role in maintaining law and order as either good or bad. Meanwhile, 5.1 per cent thought the army’s role in this regard was not good, and 3.2 per cent believed it was very bad.

The survey also asked how the army’s role in maintaining law and order from now until the election period is expected to be. A total of 60.4 per cent believe the army’s role during this time will be good, while another 24.7 per cent think it will be very good—meaning 85.1 per cent of respondents still place their trust in the army.

However, 12.6 per cent believe that from now until the election, the army’s role in maintaining law and order will be neither good nor bad. Meanwhile, 2.2 per cent think it will not be good, and 0.2 per cent believe the army’s role during this time will be very bad.

For this survey, opinions were collected from 1,342 adults (aged 18 to 55) from five urban and five rural or semi-urban areas of the country. Among them were 674 men and 668 women from various income levels, social classes, and professions. Data were collected between 21 and 28 October.
The surveying organisation stated that this was an opinion survey. It is a nationally representative survey but does not specifically represent any particular electoral constituency. The sample represents people who are able to read online or print newspapers and are likely to vote in the upcoming election. The survey results have a confidence level of 99 per cent.

The survey also included a question on what kind of impact the army’s cooperation in the upcoming national parliamentary election would have on the election itself. The results show that 53.4 per cent believe it would have a positive impact, while 27.3 per cent think it would have a very positive impact—meaning 80.7 per cent expressed trust in the army in this regard.
Beyond this, 15.1 per cent believe that the army’s cooperation would have neither a good nor bad impact on the election. Meanwhile, 3.1 per cent think it would have a negative impact, and 0.7 per cent believe it would have a very negative impact.