DHAKA (AFP) -- Four members of Bangladesh's interim Cabinet have quit in protest at the president's decision to deploy the army to restore order ahead of January's elections, an interim Cabinet member said.

"We have sent our resignation letter to the president because we think that no situation has been created in the country that warranted an army deployment," interim Cabinet member Sultana Kamal said.

President Iajuddin Ahmed ordered the deployment late on Saturday to help the civil administration restore order after the country's opposition parties threatened non-stop protests to force electoral reforms.

The opposition, led by the Awami League, have alleged the January 23 polls will be rigged in favor of the outgoing Bangladesh National Party (BNP).

At least 34 people have died in pre-election violence in the politically polarized south Asian nation.

Kamal said all the president's 10 advisors, or Cabinet members, had opposed the president's decision to deploy the armed forces. "But he did not care about our opposition," she said. "The deployment of the army is against the democratic process of the country, it can provoke the political parties and create obstacles to holding free and fair elections."

The four Cabinet members who quit include a former army chief, a former senior bureaucrat, a former foreign secretary and a top human rights lawyer.

They had already told reporters Sunday that they were "unhappy" at the president's move.

The resignation came as the opposition vowed its protests would continue, even as thousands of troops fanned out across the country.

"We will hold protest rallies to press our demand for creating a level playing field for the upcoming elections," opposition spokesman Abdul Jalil said.

"We will continue our movement until the caretaker government implements all our demands for free and fair elections," he added.