Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has urged everyone to ignore rumours of new US sanctions, noting that there has been no discussion about this in Washington.
"For God's sake, do not lose your sleep thinking about those (rumours)," he told reporters on Sunday when his attention was drawn to media reports indicating a new phase of US sanctions on individuals.
The foreign minister met reporters after a meeting with a delegation of the joint International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI) pre-election assessment mission in Dhaka.
"We were in the US… not a single person told us that a tornado was coming. You cooked it up that they only wanted a free and fair election. Even the words participatory or caretaker government were not uttered," Momen said while responding to a question.
The US mission is in Bangladesh to follow electoral preparations and conduct an independent and impartial assessment.
Momen said they have briefed the visiting joint delegation of NDI-IRI about Bangladesh’s democratic journey and electoral process and noted that the government wants to see "free, fair, transparent" polls without any violence.
Talking to reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said they have developed a "fair electoral management system" through the Election Commission which is "very impartial and powerful.”
"They did not give me any advice, they just listened to us," Momen said.
The foreign minister said it requires sincere cooperation of all to make the election violence-free.
He said they gave a comparative development scenario that has been achieved over the last 15 years, and the delegation members said nobody can defeat that performance.
Momen said they had a discussion on free and fair elections, but there was no discussion on caretaker government or participatory elections.
"If people participate and can cast their votes freely that is participatory," Momen said.
He said they want all to participate in the election as that is the only way to change government.
Statements from US mission members
Earlier, delegation member former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs Karl F Inderfurth said the international community plays an important role in supporting Bangladesh as it prepares for the election.
“We are here to listen to a variety of actors and show our support for a transparent and inclusive electoral process,” he said.
The six-member delegation will meet with a diverse group of stakeholders, including government officials, political party leaders, election authorities, civil society and others till Thursday.
The delegation is co-chaired by Karl F Inderfurth and Bonnie Glick, former deputy USAID administrator. It includes Maria Chin Abdullah, former member of the House of Representatives, Malaysia; Jamil Jaffer, former associate counsel to the president of the United States; Manpreet Singh Anand, NDI regional director for Asia-Pacific; and Johanna Kao, IRI senior director, Asia-Pacific Division.
“This joint pre-election assessment mission demonstrates our interest and support for democracy in Bangladesh,” said Bonnie Glick.
“We look forward to meeting with key stakeholders and to provide independent, impartial and timely analysis as the country heads to the polls," she added.
The delegation will conduct its assessment in accordance with the laws of Bangladesh and consistent with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, signed in 2005 at the United Nations.
Following the conclusion of its activities, the delegation will release a statement of its key findings, analysis of the pre-election environment and practical recommendations to enhance the credibility of the process and citizen confidence in the elections.
The NDI and IRI 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.
