EMF motive of calling in hired foreign poll observers questioned

Staff Reporter  :
The recent visit of a group of foreign individuals at the invitation of an obscure Election Monitoring Forum (EMF) has sparked heated debate in the political landscape, as these persons have been labeled as ‘hired poll observers’ who will serve the purpose of the government.

The so-called local election observer group EMF chaired by one Prof Md Abed Ali invited foreign observers – Terry L Islay from the United States, Nick Paul from Ireland, Yusuki Sugu from Japan, and Andy Lynn from China- to know about Bangladesh’s electoral process ahead of the 12th parliament polls. But these individuals are not the members of any international election observer group.
Divulging the identity of unfamiliar foreign citizens, Abed Ali told the media: “Two of them are journalists, and two are social workers. In their respective positions, they may engage in different businesses or various activities. Six people were supposed to come. Four have arrived.”

After being arrived in Bangladesh, the delegation on Sunday held a meeting with the Election Commission where US citizen Terry L Islay, a member of the EMF delegation and also founder of Tenet Finance International Group, said that a free and fair election is possible under the incumbent government.

Even he said that, “Your (Bangladesh’s) constitution does not support a caretaker government. To do this, the constitution must be amended. If it’s a good idea, and if they (EC) want to do it, they can’t because there is no legal framework to do so.”

Terry L Islay’s statements had induced an intense criticism among the opposition political parties, particularly the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The parties have called into question the very motive of Islay’s remarks which corroborate the stance on the ruling Awami League.
Following this event, many questions have been created regarding the purpose of EMF and the foreigners who are talking in line with the government’s agenda, when the political landscape is already tumultuous over the issues of the dissolution of the parliament and handing over power to a caretaker government.

Such a controversy regarding the foreign election observers is nothing new as it also happened in the 2018 national election. At that time, there was a controversial incident involving a group called the SAARC Human Rights Foundation, who introduced several foreign nationals as “International Election Observers.”

The Foundation’s Secretary-General, Abed Ali, is also the Chairman of the Election Monitoring Forum. The EMF was founded three months before the 2018-election and obtained the registration of the Election Commission to act as the local observer. At that time the EMF certified that the 2018-election was free and fair even though the polls were mired by high level of irregularities.
According to the information available on the Election Monitoring Forum’s website on Wednesday, there are six directors including former election commissioner Shah Nawaz, who served as a Commissioner during the controversial one-sided national election in 2014.

The other directors are Prof Dr. Md Habibur Rahman, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology; Abul Kalam Azad, Pro-Vice Chancellor of Islamic Arabic University; Prof Dr Abdul Jabbar Khan, Pro-Vice Chancellor of BUET; Mohammad Iqbal Bahar, a businessman and human rights activist and Tanvirul Islam, a bank officer and human rights activist.
When asked about the presence of several politicians within the organization, Abed Ali clarified that having politicians from various parties does not affect the neutrality of election monitoring. He emphasised that they operate with a hundred percent neutrality.

Abed Ali was born in Alingar village, Vijaynagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria district. He completed his education at Jamia Ahmadiyya Sunni Kamil Madrasa in Chattogram city and later attended Chattogram City College. According to him, he served as a teacher at the university from 2007 to 2015. However, there is no information available from the university confirming his appointment as a professor.
This time, they invited four foreign citizens, who held meetings with political parties including Jatiya Party (Monju) and JASOD along with government ministers.
Political leaders and experts have expressed concerns about these foreign observers, who are making comments unofficially about the pre-election environment under the banner of a local observer’s organisation when they are not officially nominated by their respective countries.

Even Terry L Islay also mentioned that he was not representing the US government, and said: “As members of the international observer team, we believe that under this government, the Election Commission will be able to hold free and fair elections.”

The presence of such observers raises doubts about the government’s intentions to hold a free and fair election in the wake of a strong international pressure.
The controversy stems from suspicions that these foreign individuals might be politically biased or “cherry-picked” to serve the interests of specific quarters within the government.
Critics argue that the government may be using these observers to obtain a certificate of legitimacy for the upcoming election, portraying it as free and fair in the eyes of the international community, particularly the United States.

BNP, a staunch advocate for a caretaker government during elections, has vehemently opposed the notion that the election can be held under the current constitutional setup.
They argue that a caretaker government is essential to ensure fairness and impartiality during the electoral process.

Last month, a six-member Election Exploratory Mission from the European Union visited Bangladesh to assess the political climate ahead of the 2024 parliamentary election.
They emphasised that two major political parties hold opposing views on the formation of an election-time government. Following their visit, this new group of foreign observers invited by the EMF arrived in Bangladesh, engaging with the government and other bodies including Election Commission and the Foreign Ministry.