TDS Desk:

European Union (EU) has assured the Election Commission (EC) of all kinds of assistance ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary elections.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin also told them, “The EC has deployed all its resources to ensure fair and acceptable elections.”

A delegation led by European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Michael Miller met with the CEC at the Election Building on Tuesday (January 28). The meeting discussed electoral system reforms and various preparations.

After the meeting, the CEC said, “The EU has assured all kinds of assistance required for the elections. However, they feel that the time for reforms is a little short. They are emphasizing on the electoral reform process. There was no direct discussion on the date of the vote, but we have informed that the elections may be held by the end of December or early next year. It is not possible to say anything beyond that.”

The CEC also said that the EU has asked to know how ready we are for the democratic transition. Starting from voter registration, we have informed them about the timeline and plan for the election preparations.

The CEC said, “The EU is ready to provide all kinds of assistance to Bangladesh to organize fair elections. They will send representatives to observe the election preparations and assess where the assistance is needed. In addition, the EU has also expressed interest in observing the elections.”

“EU has said that if there is a democratic transition in Bangladesh, they are ready to provide all kinds of assistance needed in this process. A team of them will come to assess the need for our assistance. They have also expressed interest in sending observers if we request,” he said.

The CEC said that the EC has made maximum preparations to make the next elections fair and acceptable.

He said, “We have promised to organize fair, impartial and acceptable elections. We have deployed all our forces and the EU delegation has expressed satisfaction with our preparations.”