Photo: Collected
Visiting international observers on Monday (8 January) described the just-held 12th National Parliamentary Election in Bangladesh as “free, fair and safe.”
“Considering the overall situation, all the observers present here agree that the 12th National Parliamentary Election of Bangladesh was held peacefully and with the participation of the common people. It was free, fair and very safe,” observer Terry L Easley said at a media briefing at Jatiya Press Club.
The observer from the US said there was no intimidation of voters by the candidates or parties participating in the election. “This bode well for democracy and voting rights.”
“We have heard of some isolated incidents. Like clashes among the supporters of the government's candidates, independent candidates and other parties which is unexpected. But if we review the overall election situation, those incidents are very insignificant,” Easley said.
They congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the election successfully and efficiently.
Jim Bates, former US congressman and an election observer, also spoke, among others. The international observers appreciated participation of women voters. They hoped to make their full report public within two weeks to one month.
“I found (it to be a) very peaceful, free and fair election,” Jim Bates told reporters at a separate media briefing Sunday evening.
"I’d like to say it’s a free and fair election already," he added.
“The thing they keep talking about is low turnout: that’s a misnomer. In some countries, voting goes on till 5/6 pm or even months,” Bates said.
He said Bangladesh has the shortest voting time in the world. “So when they say ‘low turnout,’ that’s something to manoeuvre the press,” Bates said.
Bates is a former politician who served as a Democratic elected official from San Diego, California. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991.
Chandra Arya , Member of Parliament, Canada and Victor Oh, Senator, Canada also briefed the media separately.
The independent election observers from Canada said, "Today the citizens of Bangladesh have exercised their fundamental and valuable right to vote and chose their representatives. Today, in the true spirit of democracy, the people of Bangladesh have determined who get their mandate to take the country forward for the next 5 years."
Chandra Arya said they will now wait to see the newly elected representatives of the people who will shoulder the responsibility of governing the country and deliver the commitments made during the course of the election campaign.
"We noted that even with the call for boycott, a record number of female candidates and a transgender candidate among the 28 political parties and over 1900 candidates including independents contesting the elections," he said.
The observers also noted the efforts of the Bangladesh Election Commission to reach out to voters and specifically to the younger generation to encourage them to participate in the elections.
"We confirmed there was a process within the Bangladesh Election Commission to address any complaints from the voters or the political parties or the candidates," Chandra Arya said.
"We wish to congratulate the Bangladesh Election Commission on successfully conducting a free and fair elections," he added.
"With one of us being an elected Member of Canadian Parliament and having contested and won three times in row, we are personally aware of the complexity of managing an election."
The Canadian observers recognized and commended the excellent work of Bangladesh Election Commission in marshaling all the institutions of the state and delivering a "free, fair and successful" election.
In a separate briefing, Head of the Russian election monitoring delegation, Andrey Y Shuvot, said they are satisfied with the peaceful elections.
Messenger/Disha
