30 countries, 5 organisations, including EU invited to observe elections

The interim government has invited 30 countries, along with five international organisations including the European Union, to observe the 13th national parliamentary elections.

The government hopes that foreign observers will participate on a large scale in this election for the first time in nearly 18 years.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have stated that invitations have already been sent to various countries and organisations. The final list of which countries and organisations will participate in observing the election will be confirmed very soon.

Meanwhile, Ivars Ijabs, head of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) and a member of the European Parliament, will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday.

During his five-day visit, he will meet with Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chief Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury, Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin.

In addition, Ijabs will engage with representatives of Bangladesh’s major political parties, civil society members, foreign diplomats, and stakeholders to discuss the elections.

A total of 177 observers will be part of the EU EOM for the upcoming election. The observer team will include members of the European Parliament and representatives from the European mission based in Dhaka. The advance team of European election observers arrived in Dhaka on 29 December, led by EU EOM Deputy Chief Inta Lase, who heads a 10-member delegation.

Last week, members of the EU election observation team held meetings with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, the EU representatives stated that the 10-member delegation led by Deputy Chief Inta Lase will remain in the country after the election and submit a preliminary report two days later before departing. Another 50-member delegation will arrive at the end of January, and the main EU EOM team, led by Chief Kaza Kalas, will arrive just before the election. This main team will consist of 90 members and stay for a short period. Additionally, seven members from the European Parliament and 14 members from the EU mission in Dhaka will also participate. In total, the EU EOM team for this election will include 177 representatives.

The Election Commission (EC) has invited five international organisations—the European Union (EU), the United States’ International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Commonwealth—to send foreign election observers. The EC has already sent out the official invitation letters.

It is reported that in December, the EC also invited 30 countries to send election observers alongside the international organisations. The list of these countries includes France, Japan, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Russia, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

After the 9th national parliamentary elections held in December 2008, the presence of foreign observers in the 10th, 11th, and 12th parliamentary elections was very limited. Questions were also raised regarding the competence and qualifications of those who did attend. In contrast, the 2008 elections saw a much larger presence of foreign observers. At that time, over 500 foreign observers, including representatives from the EU and other international organisations, were present—more than at any previous election.

The United Nations will not send observers for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 12 February. This information was provided yesterday, Monday, during a regular press briefing at the office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

During the briefing, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric was asked whether the UN would send observers for this election. In response, Dujarric said, “No. The UN does not send observers on its own without a mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council. Therefore, we do not do this anymore. However, the UN country office often provides technical assistance for elections. I can check and inform you whether they are providing any such support in this case.”