EU plans to deploy 150 observers for Bangladesh election: EC Secretary

NN ONLINE:

The European Union (EU) is keen to send 150 observers to Bangladesh during the upcoming national election, said Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Monday.

A tripartite MoU is being planned with the Election Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in this regard, he said while briefing reporters after a meeting with the EU pre-election expert team at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital. He said the EU delegation has submitted a draft of the MoU, which the Commission will review before moving ahead for signing it.

The EC secretary explained that all the observers will not arrive together. “They will come in phases after the announcement of the election schedule,” he said. Akhtar Ahmed said the EU team raised various queries, such as whether the observers would be allowed inside polling stations and whether they would be present during vote counting.

A seven-member EU team, headed by Riccardo Chellery (senior election expert), is now visiting Bangladesh from September 18 to October 07 to assess the pre-polls atmosphere ahead of the next general election planned to be held in early February.