The Election Commission is determined to bring in foreign observers for the upcoming 11th parliamentary election, a commission official said on Monday.
In this regard, the commission will meet with top officials of the government, including secretaries of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Public Administration and director general of Department of Immigration and Passports, on November 25, Election Commission Joint Secretary (Public Relations) SM Asaduzzaman told reporters.
The meeting will be held at the Election Commission Secretariat in Agargaon, Dhaka, with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda in chair.
Asaduzzaman further said the European Union had declined to monitor the general election, stating security issues.
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque met with the CEC Monday to discuss the issue.
Later during the post-meeting press briefing, the foreign secretary said: “I came to discuss the issue regarding foreign observers in the upcoming election. We discussed the role the Election Commission has set out for them.”
They did not, however, discuss the number of observers, or from which countries they would be invited.
Asaduzzaman said the European Union sends the largest number of observers during every election.
They decided not to send any observers during the last election, citing security concerns due to the violence that took place before the election.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has askedall local observers to file their applications by November 21, while foreign observers will have to file applications and complete all their procedural requirements through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the first week of December.
Until now, 118 local observers have registered with the Election Commission. The commission will hold a meeting with them on Tuesday.
The 11th general election is scheduled to take place on December 30.
The 2014 election was marked by the absence of a large number of foreign observers.
In 2008, there were 593 foreign and 159,113 local observers to monitor the election.
In 2001, 225 foreign observers from 32 countries and 218,000 local observers from 69 organizations monitored the polls.
In 1996, the number of foreign observers stood at 265, and that of local observers stood at 40,000.
In 1991, there were 59 foreign observers and 30,000 local observers.
