Atiqul Islam and Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh may have to wait as long as for more than three months to take charges after winning the mayoral elections to the Dhaka North and South City Corporations, res ...
Government asks diplomatic missions not to field Bangladeshi election observers
The government has asked the foreign diplomatic missions in Dhaka not to field Bangladeshi staff members as observers in the elections to the two city corporations in the capital.
Published : 31 Jan 2020, 03:41 PM
Updated : 31 Jan 2020, 03:41 PM
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent letters to the missions on Friday hours before the voting begins on Saturday morning.
Referring to the related guidelines that bar registration of a Bangladesh national as foreign observer, the ministry said in the letters: “It would be deeply appreciated if esteemed diplomatic missions in Dhaka do not include their local employees who are Bangladeshi nationals in teams for observing the upcoming Dhaka City Corporation elections.”
Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said he believes diplomatic missions have flouted election guidelines by registering their Bangladeshi staff members in Dhaka as international observers for the polls.
Despite the 'unfortunate' mistake by the embassies, Momen hoped that the election authority will step in and bar their entry into polling stations.
The Election Commission has approved the participation of 74 foreign observers working in 10 foreign missions in the city elections, among whom 28 are Bangladesh citizens.
On whether the credentials of these observers can be invalidated, the minister said, "That is a matter for the EC to decide. The missions should take responsibility since they know the law."
"They should not allow them to visit any poll centre."
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