540 foreign observers, journalists to monitor Bangladesh elections and referendum

Almost a third of the journalists covering the polls and referendum on the ground are from Pakistan

A total of 540 foreign observers and journalists are set to visit Bangladesh to monitor the election and referendum, according to the Election Commission (EC).

In a media statement issued on Monday, the EC detailed which countries and organisations are sending observers.

The list includes 150 representatives from foreign media outlets such as the BBC, Reuters, Associated Press (AP), and Al Jazeera.

Among the journalists, 48 are expected from various Pakistani media organisations, while seven journalists from Al Jazeera will arrive to cover the polls. However, the statement did not specify how many journalists will come from India.

The EC said around 60 representatives are coming from different countries’ election commissions and election-related institutions.

About 330 international observers are also expected from various international and election observation organisations.

Those invited by the commission include the chief election commissioners of Bhutan and Nigeria, the chairman of Malaysia’s Election Commission and the Standing Committee chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) from South Korea.

According to the EC, a 10-member observer delegation from Turkey, including six members of parliament and officials of the Supreme Election Council, will also attend.

Delegations of five members each are coming from Malaysia, Indonesia and Nigeria.

Election commissioners and senior officials from the election commissions of the Philippines, Georgia, Russia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Iran are also expected to observe the polls.

The EC said around 150 foreign journalists will arrive to cover the referendum and parliamentary elections.

These include 48 journalists from Pakistani media outlets, seven from Al Jazeera, and representatives from Japan’s NHK, BBC News, AP, Reuters, ABC Australia, and Deutsche Welle, along with journalists from media organisations in Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia and India.

Approximately 330 international observers will come from various global and election monitoring organisations, said th EC.

Of them, 223 will be part of the European Union-led observation mission.

In addition, 25 observers from the Commonwealth, 28 from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), 12 from the International Republican Institute (IRI) and around 30 from other organisations are expected to monitor the election independently, the EC said.