No foreign country but India and Bhutan, the countries that gave recognition first to Bangladesh as an independent country in 1971, were set to observe the 10th general elections.
Two Indians and two Bhutanese observers from the election commissions of the respective countries have already arrived in Dhaka, said Election Commission Source.
The two Indians are Chief Electoral Officer of Tripura Ashutosh Jindal and Director of Election Commission of India BB Garg while the Bhutanese are Bhutan’s public election fund division manager Toshi Dorji and voter registration department manager Sonam Tabgaiyal.
Indian Media to cover polls
Apart from the observers, Indian Journalists from different media outlets were also set to visit Bangladesh to cover the polls.
On December 18, Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu told the media that an Indian press team would arrive, upon invitation, to cover the January 5 national elections.
He said: “They will report on the election and observe the polls. The visiting delegation will prepare a report on the current situation in the country. They will prepare the report after thorough fieldwork and talks with all parties.”
US, EU, Russia and Commonwealth not to observe
Ahead of the elections, the EC earlier had requested many international polls observers, but so far it has got response from only India and Bhutan.
Citing that the major political parties of the country have been unable to create the necessary conditions for transparent, inclusive and credible elections, despite many efforts, including most recently under UN auspices, the European Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United States and Russia have declined to send polls observers this time.
On December 23, the United States said it would not send a delegation to observe the parliamentary elections slated for January 5.
The US said it believed Bangladesh had an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to democracy by organising free and fair elections that would be credible in the eyes of the Bangladeshi people.
On December 20, the EU said it decided not to deploy its Election Observation Mission (EOM) for the polls while Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma sent a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad and informed him that this time they will not observe the polls.
Russia, which has always been considered a friend country, also declined to send observers to monitor the polls.
In the ninth parliamentary elections, 585 foreign observers of 17 foreign organisations observed the polls.
Local observers: No environment to observe polls
A section of local election observers on December 17 told the Election Commission that there was no environment for observing the elections at present.
A delegation of the Election Working Group (EWG) met the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad to discuss election observation.
Only 12 political parties including Awami League is participating in the polls and rest of the 28 political parties including main opposition BNP is not participating in the polls. In 154 constituencies, candidates are set to be elected uncontested.
In this situation, the Election Commission has taken the initiative to deploy its own observers in holding elections at 146 parliamentary constituencies, an EC official said.
According to the EC, only 35 local observer organisations out of 120 registered with the EC have applied to the EC so far. About 29 election observer organisations were under the EWG.
In the ninth parliamentary elections, 158, 978 local observers observed the elections alongside 585 foreign observers of 18 foreign observer organisations.
