European Union mission says election situation under control so far

The head of the European Union Election Observation Mission has said the election situation in Bangladesh is under the control of state authorities so far, as the mission begins full-scale observation of the 13th national elections.

Responding to questions at a press conference on Tuesday, mission chief Ivars Ijabs said the EU’s assessment was based on discussions with security agencies and local stakeholders across the country.

“Well, we have also spoken to the security services, to the military, and to the police, and so of course there are more risky and less risky districts in the country, but at least our overall perception right now is that the state authorities have the situation under control,” he said.

The press conference marked the deployment of the EU mission’s short-term observers, formally launching the bloc’s full-scale election observation activities in Bangladesh.

Asked about the overall voting environment, Ijabs described the atmosphere as encouraging.

“I would say that the electoral environment is a very positive one,” he said.

“We have been speaking both to candidates and also to the authorities in all the districts and regions of the country. And the general atmosphere is very hopeful in the sense that, well, most of our interlocutors have emphasised that this should be a new page in Bangladeshi history and the Bangladeshi democracy.”

“And that's why I have to say, of course, there are many issues that have been discussed in all the regions, but the general atmosphere and the general expectations are very hopeful.”

On concerns regarding minority communities, Ijabs said the issue had been raised with the government both during and before the election campaign.

“Of course, we have emphasised this participatory nature of the electoral process, which is very much desirable that all the communities and all the minorities are included in the process, including also the participation of women. This is what we are also going to pay our attention to,” he said.

The EU Election Observation Mission has deployed 90 short-term observers, who will monitor election day activities across all 64 districts.

Their work will include observing the opening of polling stations, voting, closing procedures, ballot counting and the tabulation of results.

“These observers will be present in almost every city, town and village,” Ijabs said.

“Their reports throughout the day will be a crucial part of our impartial and fact-based assessment of these historic elections.”

The short-term observers join 56 long-term observers who arrived in mid-January and have been monitoring the pre-election environment, including campaign activities, voter awareness initiatives and election administration preparations.

According to the mission, this is the first time since 2008 that the European Union has deployed a full-scale election observation mission to Bangladesh.

The effort is further reinforced by a delegation of members of the European Parliament, along with 35 locally recruited short-term observers from EU member state missions and observers from Canada, Norway and Switzerland.

“At full capacity, the mission will include more than 200 observers,” Ijabs said, calling it a reflection of the European Union’s commitment to democratic governance in Bangladesh.

The EU mission is expected to present its preliminary findings at a press conference in Dhaka on Feb 14.