The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) will jointly monitor the Bangladesh election scheduled for January 7.
A joint team of the two institutions arrived in Bangladesh last week to conduct a limited technical assessment focused on potential electoral violence conditions before, during and after the country’s parliamentary polls.
The team comprises five long-term analysts, who have received accreditation from the Election Commission and will stay in Bangladesh for six to eight weeks.
The technical assessment includes a thematic analysis of different types of election violence, including inter- and intra-party violence, violence targeting women and other marginalized groups, and online harassment and threats, as well as the role of state institutions in addressing these types of violence, in order to evaluate the drivers and implications of election violence during the election cycle.
Following the conclusion of the electoral process, the IRI and the NDI will present a technical assessment report on electoral violence along with constructive recommendations to reduce violence in future elections.
The deployment follows a joint pre-election assessment mission the NDI and the IRI conducted from October 8 to 11.
The observations from the mission informed the structure and scope of the technical assessment, which is being conducted in accordance with the laws of Bangladesh and consistent with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, which was endorsed in 2005 at the United Nations.
The IRI and the NDI are nonpartisan, nongovernmental organizations that support and strengthen democratic institutions and practices worldwide.
The institutes have collectively observed more than 200 elections in more than 50 countries over the last 30 years.
Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said nine countries - India, Sri Lanka, China, Russia, Japan, Uzbekistan, Mauritius, Georgia and Palestine - would observe the 12th parliamentary election.
Besides, the OIC, Commonwealth and Arab Parliament would also observe the election, she said.
A four-member EU expert panel is also in Dhaka to observe the election.