22,000 local observers interested in monitoring the upcoming Bangladesh polls: EC
Sources from the Election Commission (EC) say the commission has recently registered 96 domestic organisations for a five-year period
Around 22,000 local election observers are interested in monitoring the upcoming 12th parliamentary elections.
Sources from the Election Commission say the commission has recently registered 96 domestic organisations for a five-year period.
From these organisations, 21,969 applications have been received, and they are currently undergoing verification.
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The documents will soon be presented to the commission for approval. After this, the list of the organisations and the number of observers permitted to monitor the elections in each constituency will be finalised.
The process of approving foreign observers is also underway. 227 foreign observers and journalists have applied so far. Among them, 156 are observers and 71 are journalists.
EC's Director of Public Relations, Md Shariful Alam, has informed that applications for election observation have come from Thailand, Nepal, India, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Iraq, Palestine, Georgia, Uganda, Norway, Bulgaria, and Congo.
Additionally, journalists from AFP, NDTV, The New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press India, Jiji Press-Japan, Swedish Radio, The National from the UAE, The Yomiuri Shimbun from Japan, and Junge Freiheit from Germany have expressed interest in covering the election.
One freelance journalist has also applied.
Moreover, the EC has sent invitations to the election commissions of India, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, France, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Senegal, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Tunisia, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan, and Singapore to observe the election.
Invitations have also been extended to the secretaries-general of Saarc and OIC, the chairpersons of FEMBoSA and A-WEB.
Additional Secretary of the EC, Ashok Kumar Debnath, has stated that applications from foreign observers and journalists have been sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs for verification.
Based on their verification, the commission will grant approval, and they will receive visas accordingly.
Besides, the EC has sent invitations to 34 countries and four organisations to observe the elections. EC has invited 114 individuals from these 34 countries' election commissions and four organisations.
The Bangladesh Election Commission will bear all local expenses except airfare for these observers.
The European Union has informed that a team of technical experts will observe the election. Four members of this team have already arrived in the country.
The Commonwealth and the United States' National Democratic Institute have also expressed interest in observing the election
