Foreign observers hail Bangladesh election, call it free and fair

Foreign observers have unanimously hailed as free and fair Bangladesh’s just ended parliamentary elections boycotted by the main Opposition and which the ruling Awami League swept.

Observers from the US, Canada, Russia, the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Arab Parliament unanimously praised the conduct of the elections that was preceded by anti-government violence.

“It's been a very fair and free process for people walking in… good security and a very transparent process,” said Shaoquett Moselmane, an Australian observer.

American praise

“I found the election very peaceful, free, and fair,” state-run BSS news agency quoted former US Congressman Jim Bates as saying at the end of polling on Sunday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League won 223 seats in the 300-member Parliament. It was the League’s fourth straight win.

Hasina, 76, was elected from Gopalganj-3 constituency for her eighth term as a MP. With this, Hasina is poised to become the longest-serving prime minister in Bangladesh since independence.

BNP boycott

One observer said the caretaker government system over which the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) boycotted the polls was anti-democratic.

The government invited a large number of foreign observers to observe the elections.

The turnout in Sunday's election was about 40 per cent, mainly because of the boycott by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies.

More kudos

The observers visited different polling centres in and around Dhaka as well as adjacent districts.

South Asia Democratic Forum Executive Director Paulo Casaca, aformer Portuguese MP, said the electoral process was “very good, marvellous and magnificent” in Bangladesh.

He said Bangladesh was taking the process of democracy much further than any other country.

Transparent election

CEO of American Global Strategies Alexander B Gray said: “The election was free and fair, and professionally administered, having a high degree of enthusiasm from the voters, polling staff and others concerned.”

“This election met the highest standards of democratic accountability and professionalism,” he said.

Andrey Y Shutov from the Russian Election Commission said he was impressed by the openness and transparency of the election.

28 parties

“We think the electoral system in Bangladesh is efficient,” he said.

Chandrakanth Arya, an Indo-Canadian Liberal politician, said a record number of over 1,900 candidates representing 28 political parties took part in the contest.

“We would like to congratulate the Election Commission for conducting a very free, fair and successful election,” he said.

He refused to comment on the BNP boycott. “It’s not our job to comment on the judgment of that decision. The election process was free, so we accepted it.”

Minister flays West

Separately, foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said whether the people of the country supported the election was the big issue, not the stance of Western countries.

The question of Western recognition came up as the BNP boycotted the polls.

“When we got independence in 1971, did the Western world support us?” the Dhaka Tribune quoted Momen as saying.

Opposition protest

Former premier Khaleda Zia-led BNP, which boycotted the election and observed a strike on election day, said the party plans to intensify its anti-government movement.

The BNP boycotted the 2014 election too but took part in the election in 2018. Besides BNP, 15 other political parties too boycotted the elections.