Dhaka trashes statements by six int’l CSOs

Staff Reporter :
Dhaka has strongly rejected a joint statement by six international civil society organizations (CSOs) of Bangladesh’s January 7 national election.

“The allegations raised in the statement are false and baseless,” the foreign ministry said on Saturday.

“The preposterous calls for a fresh election do not commensurate with the acclamation poured on the government by the international community for conducting free, fair, credible and peaceful elections,” it said.

Dhaka described the joint statement as “misleading, one-sided and unacceptable” issued “with an ulterior motive to encourage anti-democratic and anti-election forces that made their ill attempts to thwart the elections”.

Bangladesh’s 12th national election was held in a free, fair, transparent and festive atmosphere. A total of 1,534 candidates from 28 registered political parties and 436 independent candidates contested the polls.

The voter turnout was as high as 70 percent in many rural constituencies while the national average turnout was 41.8 because of comparatively lower turnout in the city areas.

“Despite challenges due to the unleashing of violence by the BNP in the lead-up to the election, the polling day unfolded with an unprecedented level of peace, marked by only a few isolated incidents at a few polling centres,” the foreign ministry said.

Many international election observers and journalists, who actively reported on the elections from the field, attested to this truth, the statement added.

The ministry said that the members of the law enforcing agency responded to the incidents of violence that occurred in the run-up to the elections with restraint, proportionality and adherence to legal boundaries. It said there were no arrests on political grounds.

Those who hurled petrol bombs on people and vehicles, set people on fire, killed and injured people and disrupted public life to subvert the elections were arrested under specific allegations, according to the statement.

These measures were deemed necessary to uphold the rule of law and protect the rights of all citizens, it added.