US and civil society working for free and fair election

Staff Reporter :
In the wake of mass people’s demand for free and fair elections, the US and the civil society members are echoing the same and working on it ahead of the parliamentary polls.
The BNP and the Jatiya Party are also voicing for free and fair election under a caretaker government or a neutral government, but not under partisan government.
Meanwhile, visiting US Assistant Deputy Secretary for South and Central Asia Afreen Akhter said that her government has been working with the civil society members for free and fair elections.
After holding a meeting with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Maritime Unit Secretary Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam at the Foreign Ministry on Sunday, she made the remarks before the journalists.
“The US expects a free and fair election in Bangladesh. The US is helping Bangladesh about the issue. Even the US Dhaka Mission and USAID are closely working with the civil society for free and fair election,” she added.
 “This is the first time I have come to Bangladesh. I am visiting here to talk with government officials, civil society members and other stakeholders about how we can work together,” Afreen said.
About the subject matter of the meeting, she said that they have discussed bilateral cooperation in maritime security including combating illegal fishing and other forms of crimes in the Bay of Bengal.
The meeting also discussed the Rohingya issue including their repatriation to their homeland and the US assistance.
“The US is working with Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue. The US Secretary of State has announced an assistance of $170 million. We have talked about its implementation in the meeting,” she added.
On November 5, Afreen Akhter arrived in Dhaka on a two-day visit to Dhaka and during her visit she would talk to the civil society members and other stakeholders to talk on various issues of Bangladesh.