Foreign observers impressed with peaceful election despite low turnout

International observers from across the globe, including the US, Canada, Russia, and the OIC, expressed positive assessments of Bangladesh's national elections held on Sunday, largely characterising it as free, fair, and peaceful.

After observing the voting, most of them expressed their satisfaction about the electoral atmosphere and process and they congratulated the Election Commission.

A few of them, however, expressed concerns about voter turnout, terming it lower than desired.

"We have visited many polling centres to personally observe and witness the election process in action," said Chandrakanth Arya, member of the Canadian parliament, during a press conference on Sunday evening. "We were given unconditional access to all and any polling stations we wished to visit.

"We wish to congratulate the Bangladesh Election Commission on successfully conducting a free and fair election."

Victor Oh, a senator of Canada, was also present during the briefing arranged by the Press Information Department (PID) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at a city hotel.

At least 10 delegations on Sunday held separate press conferences after visiting polling centres.

"I witnessed a free and fair election," said Alexander B Gray, CEO of American Global Strategies, after observing nearly 10 polling centres. "The professionalism of the administration was truly inspiring. I saw two to three thousand voters, and not a single one expressed any concern to me."

Meanwhile, Jim Bates, an observer from the US, calls the election "free and fair", and says low turnout is a "misnomer", reports UNB

"I'd like to say it's a free and fair election already," he told journalists.

Polls end amid low voter turnout, counting begins

"The thing they keep talking about is low turnout: that's a misnomer. In some countries, voting goes on till 5/6 pm or even months," he added.

"So when they say 'low turnout', that's something to manoeuvre the press," Bates said.

Martyn Day, a Scottish MP from the SNP, expressed overall positive impressions, except for the "disappointing" low voter turnout. 

A group of Russian observers also offered positive assessments of the election.   "We are satisfied with the overall electoral atmosphere," Andrei Shutov, a Russian observer, said during a press conference.

However, Paulo Casaca, executive director of the South Asian Democratic Forum, said "Democracy and the ballots of the vote are a tremendous gift." 

Casaca also expressed disappointment at the lack of "full participation" by major opposition parties, suggesting it was a missed opportunity for celebration.

Shakir Mahmood Bandar, head of the OIC Election Observation Mission, said the election was well organised and held in a peaceful manner.

A group of election observers from the Middle East highly praised the electoral process in Bangladesh, especially the "quiet and peaceful" environment on voting day.                                     

In a separate briefing, Abdihakim Moalliam, a member of the Arab Parliament, also praised the voting environment. 

Voter turnout estimated to be 40%: CEC

Besides, Palestinian observer Hisham Kuhail, leading a delegation from Palestine and Jordan, lauded the "simple and easy" voting procedures and the "commendably efficient" duration of each vote.

When asked about the voter turnout, Kuhail said "We are here to judge the voting process, whether voters were allowed access to the polls, or whether voting took place systematically." 

He further praised the "balanced representation" of male and female voters, encouraging Bangladesh to be "proud of your voting process".

Observers from Nigeria and Gambia also commended the arrangements while acknowledging the low participation. 

Out of the observers, 45 foreign journalists also covered the election.  

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen said foreign observers emphasised transparency of the voting process rather than voter turnout, reports BSS.

"They (foreign observers) told me they weren't here to simply watch the number of voters," he said after casting his vote in a Dhaka-10's voting centre.

"Turnout is a factor, but whether the election is transparent, free from intimidation, is also crucial," he added.

A total of 124 international observers, including 45 sent by countries and organisations and 78 independent observers, observed the recent election, according to PID. 

Voting for the 12th Jatiya Sangsad elections was held on Sunday amid a comparatively low voter turnout. The estimated final turnout was said to be 40%, according to the Election Commission.