The European Union (EU) has expressed its intention to send 150 election observers to monitor Bangladesh’s upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Elections.
According to Akhtar Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission (EC), the EU delegation wants to remain in the country from the announcement of the election schedule until the official gazette is published.
The EU also aims to conduct a comprehensive, round-the-clock assessment of the entire electoral process. To facilitate this, a tripartite memorandum of understanding will be signed among the EU, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Election Commission.
The senior secretary shared these details on Monday following a meeting at the EC headquarters in Agargaon of the capital .
He clarified that the observers will not all arrive at once. Instead, they will come in phases following the announcement of the election schedule. “A team from the European Union visited us as part of an assessment mission. They sought clarification on several issues and indicated their intention to sign a memorandum of understanding with us,” he said. A bilateral meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also planned.
Regarding the observers’ activities, the EC Secretary stated, “They have inquired whether they will be allowed to enter polling centres, observe inside secret voting booths, and be present during the vote counting process. They want to arrive at different stages after the schedule is declared and remain until the final results are gazetted.”
He added that the EU team expressed satisfaction with the EC’s preparations, including the progress of work and updates to the voter list.
“They showed particular interest in the registration of new voters. After reviewing all aspects, they confirmed that another EU team will visit in the future.”
