EC says preparing for national polls in Dec; UNDP hopes it'll be best in Bangladesh's history
"We are supporting the EC to conduct a free and fair election, hopefully, the best election in the history of Bangladesh," said Stefan Liller, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh
Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah today (11 February) said that preparations are underway to hold national elections in December.
"We are preparing for national elections in December," he told journalists after a meeting with ambassadors and representatives from 17 development partner countries, the European Union, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Nirbachan Bhaban in Dhaka's Agargaon.
When asked about the election date, EC Sanaullah said, "The chief adviser mentioned two dates. If there is little reform, the election will be held in December, and if more reform is needed, the election will be held next June. However, we are preparing for the first date."
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Regarding the possibility of local elections before December, he stated, "The government will decide on the local government elections. If that decision is made, we will then see how much can be done, and our decision will be accordingly."
The meeting with foreign envoys focused on discussing preparations for the 13th national polls. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin led the discussions, with other commissioners in attendance.
Before the meeting, EC officials said the commission would present its election-related preparations to the foreign envoys.
Representatives from the embassies of Italy, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden, South Korea, Turkey, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, China, the Netherlands, and France were present.
UNDP pledges support for fair elections
The United Nations hopes for the best election in Bangladesh's history, said Stefan Liller, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh.
"We are supporting the EC to conduct a free and fair election, hopefully, the best election in the history of Bangladesh. That is the aspiration, but in terms of the timeline, that is a decision for the interim government and the Election Commission. We have nothing to do with that," he told journalists after the meeting.
When asked about the challenges of holding such elections, Liller declined to comment, saying, "That's not for me to comment."
Liller stated that the Election Commission requested electoral support from the UN in December last year. In response, a needs assessment team visited Bangladesh for two weeks in January to determine the type of technical support the UN could provide.
"Based on the recommendations, we have had some initial discussions with development partners on different areas of support," he said.
These include strengthening the Election Commission, improving training institutions, and enhancing voter registration. To ensure participation from people of all backgrounds, a voter education campaign is also being considered.
