This was disclosed by Deputy Press Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad Majumder at a press conference held in front of state guesthouse Jamuna in the capital on Saturday night, citing EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.
Earlier, a meeting regarding election preparations was held at Jamuna, which was also attended by the EC secretary.
Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said that an NGO named “PASA” had stated it would appoint 10,000 election observers. However, the EC could not verify their capabilities. Therefore, the distribution of election observer cards to them has been suspended.
The deputy press secretary further stated that no political affiliation has been found regarding them so far, and the investigation into the matter is ongoing.
Earlier, BNP had alleged that a disproportionate number of observers were drawn from a small group of organisations, many of them unfamiliar. The EC, however, had said at the time that approvals were based solely on applications submitted by registered organisations, arguing that those seeking higher numbers received more approvals.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud had told TIMES of Bangladesh at the time that no observer had been approved based on political affiliation, saying decisions were made using the Commission’s judgement and discretion.
According to commission data, PASA had received the highest number of approvals, with 10,559 observers.
