Commonwealth observer team satisfied with election arrangements: EC
When asked whether BNP’s anti-election programmes and hartal were discussed in the meeting, the EC additional secretary said, "No such talk occurred during the meeting."
After a meeting with a six-member election observer team from the Commonwealth, the Election Commission said the team expressed satisfaction with its arrangements for the national election scheduled for 7 January.
"The Commonwealth representatives were reassured after learning that an adequate number of members of the law enforcement agencies have been deployed in the field to ensure that voters can cast their ballots fearlessly in a peaceful environment," said Additional EC Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath, who spoke to the media after the meeting held at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon on Friday.
He said, "The team inquired about any challenges faced by voters in exercising their right to vote, and we provided them with information about our arrangements."
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The delegation also expressed satisfaction with the security provided for them, the EC additional secretary added..
When asked whether BNP's anti-election programmes and hartal were discussed in the meeting, the EC additional secretary said, "No such talk occurred during the meeting."
The Commonwealth delegation declined to talk to the media after the meeting.
The delegation members include the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, HE Arthur Bruce Golding; the former Chairman of the Election Commissioner of Cameroon, Samuel Ajiu Funkam; and the Former Chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Mohammed Jege.
Other members of the team are Waligma Vidana Archenga Dennis, Professor of Public and International Law at the University of Colombo; Sarthak Roy, Assistant Research Officer at the Governance and Pitch Directorate, Electoral Support Adviser at the Commonwealth's Governance and Pitch Directorate; and Chief Linford Andrews.
Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retired) Ahsan Habib Khan presided over the meeting.
Later on the day, a meeting was held with the OIC election observation delegation to Bangladesh in the EC Building.
After the meeting the EC additional secretary informed the media that the discussion with the OIC was similar to the discussion it had with the commonwealth observer team.
Meanwhile, responding to a query, Shakir Mahmood Bandar, head of the election unit of the OIC delegation, said, "We would like to thank the Bangladesh Election Commission and to the government of Bangladesh for inviting the OIC to observe this election."
"We would like to reiterate and congratulate Bangladesh for its active role in the OIC. We are here as an electoral foreign observer to help and support the Bangladeshi people in this election and we wish for a transparent, free and fair election."
