‘Commonwealth to deploy election observers’

Staff Reporter :

The Commonwealth has decided to send election observers to Bangladesh to monitor the upcoming national polls, BNP Standing Committee member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with a visiting five-member Commonwealth delegation at a city hotel, Khosru said, “We discussed the matter of election observation, and they have decided to send observers for the upcoming national election.” The delegation was led by Linford Andrews, Head of the Commonwealth’s Electoral Support Section and Chief of its Pre-Election Assessment Mission. The BNP team included Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Dr. Zia Uddin Haider, Joint Secretary General Humayun Kabir, and Organising Secretary Shama Obaed. The meeting began around 6 pm and lasted for about an hour.

Khosru said the discussions covered various aspects of the electoral process, including democratic transition, law and order, and the neutrality of the election-time administration. “The Commonwealth delegation wanted to understand how Bangladesh is preparing for the election and what measures are being taken to ensure a free and fair vote,” he added.
He said BNP reiterated its position that the polls should be held under a neutral arrangement in the spirit of the former caretaker system, which once had political consensus across parties. “The caretaker model was created to resolve the crisis of trust among political parties. That crisis still exists, and only a neutral framework can restore public confidence,” he noted.
Khosru further said the Commonwealth team expressed interest in supporting institutional capacity-building initiatives for the Election Commission and democratic governance.
He also mentioned that the delegation inquired about the implementation of the July Charter. “We told them that the Charter enjoys broad political support, though some parties have recorded notes of dissent, which remain publicly available,” Khosru said.