EC to invite 42 countries

The Election Commission has decided to invite election management bodies from 42 countries to observe the upcoming parliamentary polls.

It will also invite the secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

EC officials said they will send invitations to election management bodies of China, Russia, India, Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Argentia, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, Qatar, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and other countries.

EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath yesterday told The Daily Star that they will send invitations and the whole process will be communicated through the foreign ministry.

He said the EC will bear expenses of their stay in Bangladesh.

During the last election, 38 observers from the Commonwealth, OIC, and Philippines-based Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA), among others came to Bangladesh on EC's invitation.

Besides, 62 foreigners and 69 Bangladeshis of different foreign missions worked as international observers in the 2018 election.

According to EC sources, 169 international observers monitored the 2018 election, compared to 593 in 2008 and 225 in 2001.

Meanwhile, the EC on October 22 invited applications from interested international observers by November 21 to monitor the polls.

EC gives great importance to the election observation process for the sake of transparency, it said yesterday in a notice.

EC sources said that the European Union, Commonwealth and US-based National Democratic Institute (NDI), African Electoral Alliance, have so far expressed their desire to monitor the polls.

The Commonwealth's pre-election assessment mission will meet the chief election commissioner on November 19.

According to an EC official, the Commonwealth will decide on sending a full observer mission only after the findings of the team.

The EU exploratory mission visited Bangladesh from July 6-22 while the US joint mission of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) visited Bangladesh from October 8-11.

Based on the report of the exploratory mission, the EU decided not to send a full observer mission. The EU later said they would send a four-member observer team to monitor the polls.

A US pre-election mission has visited Bangladesh but is yet to declare whether they will send a full mission or not.

It, however, has made five recommendations as a roadmap for progress toward credible, inclusive, participatory, and nonviolent elections.