56 observers of the European Union (EU) have come to the field to monitor the thirteenth national parliament election and referendum to be held on February 12.
Speaking to reporters at a hotel in the capital today, Inta Lasse, Deputy Head and Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM), said, ‘Let us observe the election and we wait until an overall assessment is completed. Everyone knows that there is no perfect election anywhere in the world. It is important to consider the entire selection process in its overall context while preparing mission evaluations.’
Inta Lase commented that the evaluation report and recommendations of the mission prepared in the spirit of friendship and cooperation will help to improve the electoral process of Bangladesh in the future.
Inta Lasse said to the observers, ‘You will be in the field. You will see the reality. Let us know in Dhaka how the situation is progressing in each district. We look forward to your field evaluation and report. Long-term observers are an important part of our mission. An impartial and informed assessment will be done based on their observation and experience.
Lasse said the observers will work in two-member teams. They are not only in the city; In small towns and villages also meet voters, election officials, candidates, political parties, citizen observers and youth workers.
Apart from the EU member states, observers also came from Canada, Norway and Switzerland. Before starting the field work, they were briefed in detail about the electoral process, political situation, legal framework and media and social reality of Bangladesh.
Member of the European Parliament Ivers Ijabs is leading the mission as Chief Observer. He officially inaugurated the Mission’s activities through a press conference in Dhaka on January 11.
The mission’s capacity will be further enhanced by the deployment of 90 short-term observers in the run-up to election day. They will be joined by observers from diplomatic missions of European Union member states, Canada, Norway and Switzerland. They will monitor the process of vote taking, vote counting and result tabulation.
Apart from this, a delegation of European Parliament members will also participate in the mission. In total, the EU election observation mission will have around 200 observers from the 27 EU member states, including Canada, Norway and Switzerland, at full capacity.
The EU EOM will hold a press conference in Dhaka on February 14 and release their preliminary monitoring report. After the entire election process, the final report with recommendations for the next election will be submitted to the concerned authorities.
Both reports will be made public and published on the mission’s website, EU officials said.
