CEC: Donor countries monitoring Bangladesh elections

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal has said that the donor countries are keeping an eye on the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. 

"All countries are inquiring about our elections. Our donor nations are keenly interested in witnessing the elections, whether termed as pressure or heightened awareness."

He made the comments while replying to questions from journalists at the Election Commission in the capital’s Agargaon on Monday.

Earlier, a Japanese delegation met the CEC. The country is set to send a three-member observer team to Bangladesh. In addition, 13 other members of their embassy will monitor the polls.

“We also said that the election will be free, neutral, and fair. The government has said the same thing over and over again. Bangladesh is a member of the International Community and a member of the Committee of Nations. We will make the election free, fair, and peaceful; We have put a lot of emphasis on these three things,” Kazi Habibul Awal said.

Regarding BNP, the CEC said they have told the party to participate in the polls multiple times, but they refused. 

“What I said before -- if they participated in the national polls, the process would have been inclusive and participatory,” he added.

The allocation of electoral symbols for January’s general election commenced at the offices of returning officers across Bangladesh on Sunday morning.

Candidates can carry out their election campaigns maintaining the electoral code of conduct after receiving their symbols till 8am on January 5.

Altogether 1,896 candidates are left to run for parliament after 347 contenders withdrew their candidacies on Sunday.

The candidacy of five was pending, Election Commission Secretary Md Jahangir Alam said, adding that 27 political parties were contesting the 12th parliamentary polls.

The national polls is scheduled to be held on January 7, 2024.