UN calls on all parties to ensure people are able to vote freely

The United Nations called on all parties involved to ensure that the people of Bangladesh are able to express their votes and opinions freely.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said this while responding to a question during a regular press briefing yesterday.

A reporter asked him about a recent Human Rights Watch report which, according to the reporter, said that a free and fair election was impossible in Bangladesh amid "ongoing systematic crackdown on opposition members and critics".

In reply, Stéphane Dujarric answered, "Well, we do not have… the UN is not deploying observers to these elections. We don't… we rarely, rarely do that without a specific mandate. We, again, and we've seen the reports from Human Rights Watch and other organisations, we again call on all parties involved to ensure that people are able to express their votes freely, their opinion freely, free of any harassment."