POBNEWS24, Dhaka Oct 8, 2023 : The US pre-election observation mission arrived in Dhaka on Saturday ahead of the upcoming national elections. The group will meet from Sunday to Thursday with representatives of International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI). They will have a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the afternoon on the first day today.
Brian Schiller, spokesman for the US Embassy in Dhaka, said last month that the US pre-election observation mission will visit Bangladesh from October 7 to 13.
The deployment of the joint Pre-Election Assessment Mission (PEAM) by IRI and NDI aims to provide an independent and impartial assessment of the election preparations, IRI said in a press release.
According to IRI, the delegation will consist of six international experts. Among them are former Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs Carl F. Inderfurth, former USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick, former Malaysian House of Representatives member Maria Chin Abdullah, former US Presidential Aide Jameel Jaffer, NDI Regional Director (Asia-Pacific) Manpreet Singh Anand and IRI’s Asia-Pacific Johanna Kao is the senior director of the department.
Bonnie Glick said, this joint pre-election assessment mission is an expression of our interest and support for democracy in Bangladesh.
We look forward to meeting key stakeholders and providing independent, impartial and timely analysis as Bangladesh heads towards elections.
Meanwhile, former Assistant Secretary Carl F. Inderfurth said, Bangladesh is preparing for elections. The international community plays an important role in supporting Bangladesh. He said, we are here to listen to various stakeholders and express our support for a transparent and inclusive electoral process.
During its stay in Dhaka, the pre-election observation mission will hold meetings with various electoral stakeholders including the Bangladesh Election Commission, government officials, political party leaders, civil society organizations. At the end of the visit, the observer mission will present the information and recommendations they have received. This mission will be conducted in accordance with the principles of international election observation. This mission is being conducted with the assistance of USAID.
Earlier, the European Union (EU) pre-election delegation visited Dhaka from July 8 to 23.
Last month, the EU informed Bangladesh of its decision not to send a full-fledged observer mission to the upcoming elections.
