Chief of the European Union (EU) Election Observation Mission to Bangladesh, Ivars Ijabs, on Thursday said there will be some 200 EU observers in Bangladesh to monitor the upcoming national election and referendum, focusing on the free, fair, and credible balloting.
“We will also have those short-term observers on the 12th of February. There will be 200 observers from the EU, including a group of my colleagues from the European Parliament and members of the European Parliament also having their own delegation here,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city.
Ivars Ijabs, also a Member of the European Parliament from Latvia, said: “We are really here to observe in a nonpartisan way how this electoral process is being conducted because Bangladesh is really a very important partner for the European Union.”
He said they have a team here that will be working up until the very end (of the election) and will produce the final report with all the details of the process. “But now we have just started with our mission,” Ivars Ijabs said.
The mission chief said: “We are really looking forward to this opportunity to observe your electoral process for Bangladesh as a vibrant democracy.”
In reply to a question about what the issues will be that the EU focus on in election monitoring here, he said: “Well, first of all, there are the procedural aspects, meaning the registration of voters, the conduct of a fair and free ballot, the credibility of that.”
He said it is his initial visit to Bangladesh to meet the most relevant stakeholders who are playing a part in this process.
Noting that the initial team is smaller, he said the team is composed of those who are long-term observers.
Ivars Ijabs said Bangladesh is a beautiful country with a very pluralistic and diverse society. “We will be covering not just Dhaka but also the rest of the country, which is very important.”
About the meeting between the mission and the CEC, he said they (EC) just explained the electoral process and informed all the challenges in the election. “For example, this situation, when the parliamentary elections are taking place together with a referendum, which is also a challenge, of course, for the Election Commission. But I hope they will deal with this in an appropriate way,” he said.
“The Bangladesh Election Commission told us that these are really a very historic and important election, taking into account what happened in August of 2024 right now,” he added.
