The Election Commission (EC) has invited heads of embassies and missions in Bangladesh and the resident representative of the UNDP to a meeting on January 4 to brief them on the 12th parliamentary elections being held on January 7.
A letter to this end, signed by Shariful Alam, Director of the EC Secretariat’s Public Relations Department, was sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.
The meeting will begin at 3pm on January 4 at a five-star hotel in Dhaka, according to the letter.
At the meeting, the heads of foreign missions, heads of international organizations, and the resident representative of the UNDP in Bangladesh will be informed of the steps taken by the EC to hold the polls in a free and fair manner.
The letter also requested that the foreign secretary take necessary measures to invite the invited diplomats and ensure their presence.
Meanwhile, the EC said that applications from more than 200 foreign and 20,000 local observers to observe the polls have been submitted to the relevant authorities.
The applications of foreign observers will be approved by the EC subject to no objection from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs.
Habiganj DC’s withdrawal ordered
Earlier in the day, the EC ordered the withdrawal of the deputy commissioner (DC) of Habiganj and three police officials, including two officers-in-charge (OCs), in other districts.
Separate letters in this regard from the EC were sent to the senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and the senior secretary of the Public Security Division of the Home Ministry.
The withdrawal decisions were taken by the commission to ensure fairness and neutrality at the parliamentary election, the EC said.
Debi Chanda is the Habiganj DC.
The OCs in question are of Chandpur's Matlab (North) and Madaripur's Dasar police stations while the third policeman facing the withdrawal is Kaliganj police station's Inspector (Investigation) Rajeev Chakraborty.
‘Post vote counting details’
The EC has asked presiding officers to send copies containing details of vote counting to the commission via post at the end of the voting on January 7, reported BSS.
The commission has already issued instructions to this end and sent them to all presiding officers in the country.
A special envelope has been sent to every presiding officer too, an EC press release said.
Under Section 36 of the Representation of the People Order, 1972, every presiding officer will send a copy of the details of vote counting to the EC directly from the polling stations via post.
