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Published : 10 Dec 2014, 06:35 PM
The visiting dignitary said this against the backdrop of the Jan 5 national polls boycotted by the opposition BNP.
“We are not calling for new elections,” Jean Lambert who is also the chair of the delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia said at a press briefing in Dhaka on Wednesday.
She said the major political parties had to offer a solution on ways to hold future elections and find transitional measures so that all parties could take part, giving people a “full and fair choice”.
She, however, after meeting the general-secretary level leaders of the two major parties – the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP – was not optimistic about an imminent solution.
“I think it’s fair to say that it still seems to me there is long way to go on that,” she said in reply to a question.
However, she clarified that “that does not mean people should give up trying to make it happen” and looking for “possibilities that might still be available”.
Lambert came to Dhaka on a personal visit at the invitation of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association (BGMEA), but met different stakeholders including political leaders and members of the civil society.
The EU did not send observers to the Jan 5 general election, as it did not find it “transparent, inclusive and credible” with more than half the seats going uncontested.
Opposition BNP boycotted the poll over differences with the ruling Awami League on the poll-time administration.
Lambert said she still believed this was a political issue that “major parties ... really have to grapple with”.
She said the European parliament still felt the elections had not reflected the “full views” and was “not fully represented” as more than half the seats went unchallenged.
She said they had also felt that any government with overwhelming majority had the responsibility “to make sure political space was left open for other views”.
She said the EU had not sent poll observers because “it was not a fully contested election”.
She said they could only offer support but the solution had to be “fit for the people of Bangladesh”.
It was “essential” to have an agreement as a democratic tool, she said.
Replying a question, she reiterated the Euro parliament’s concerns on Bangladesh’s human rights issues expressed in a resolution in September.
The resolution expressed concern over disappearances and extrajudicial killings, and stressed the need for full and in-depth investigations of certain incidents.
She also urged to use the “very active and dynamic” civil society of Bangladesh and talked about a “responsible media”.
