Bangladesh polls not credible, free or fair US says again
Staff Reporter :
The United States have reiterated that the 12th parliamentary election was not credible, free and fair and urged the government of Bangladesh to carry out an investigation credibly and transparently into the reports of violence.
The statement was made during a Thursday press briefing at the State Department, where US spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed journalists’ inquiries.
A journalist asked him when you say that the election results in Bangladesh were not credible, free, or fair, does this imply that the US will not recognise Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s fourth straight term?
Miller said, “No, no” In another question – what steps will the United States take in response to the reported sham election in Bangladesh involving the undermining of democracy and imprisonment of thousands opposition members? As you mentioned in your statement, that election was not free and fair.
He said, “We do remain concerned by the arrest of thousands of political opposition members and by the reports of irregularities on election day.”
“We share the view with other observers that these elections were not free and fair.
We regret that not all parties participated, and we condemn the violence that took place during elections and in the months leading up to it,” he continued.
Calling upon the government of Bangladesh, the spokesperson said, “We are now encouraging the Government of Bangladesh to credibly and transparently investigate the reports of violence, to hold perpetrators accountable, and we urge all parties to reject political violence.”
Miller emphasised the US desire for free and fair elections globally so that elections reflect the will of the people. Moreover, the US will align polices to achieve that objective, he said.
Tough the US government has said that they want to work with the government in multifaceted arenas in the days to come, but the Biden administration has not yet endorsed the 7 January election as free and fair.
In a recent meeting with the newly appointed Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud, US Ambassdor Peter Haas said, “The US looks forward to working closely in the coming months to advance our relations based on mutual interests.”
Even the EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley also announced that the European Union (EU) would initiate negotiations with Bangladesh on the Partnership Cooperation Agreement in the near future.
However, both of the diplomats did not talk about the election rather the foreign minister himself raised the issue before them, but did not carry on the discussion on the election issue.
Before holding the election, the US government even changed its visa policy for Bangladeshi individuals saying that they would impose visa restriction if any individual undermine the democratic electoral process.
Along with US, the United Nations, Australia and Canada have not yet recognised the election as free, fair and credible.
