The TBH Desk
Foreign observers, who have come to observe the 12th general election of Bangladesh including those from USA, Canada and Russia, termed the polls as ‘free, fair, peaceful, successful and legitimate’.
“I found the election as very peaceful, free, and fair,” said Jim Bates, US Member of Congress, at a press conference at a city hotel Monday (January 8).
A good number of foreign observers who visited different polling centres in the capital and adjacent districts shared their experiences at the press conference.
The foreign observers who spoke at the press conference were member of the central election commission of the Russian Federation Andrey Y SHUTOV, CEO of central election commission, Palestine, Hisham Kuhail, Mohamadou Musa Njie of the Gambia High Commission, Scottish MP Martyn Day, head of election unit, OIC Shakir Mahmood Bandar, member of Arab Parliament Abdihakim Moalliam, executive director of South Asia Democratic Forum Paulo Casaca, Victor OH and Chandrakanth Arya of Canada.
“Considering the overall situation, all the observers present here agree that the 12th National Parliamentary Election of Bangladesh was held peacefully and with the participation of the common people. It was free, fair and very safe,” observer Terry L Easley said at a media briefing at Jatiya Press Club.
The observer from the US said there was no intimidation of voters by the candidates or parties participating in the election. “This bode well for democracy and voting rights.”
“We have heard of some isolated incidents. Like clashes among the supporters of the government’s candidates, independent candidates and other parties which is unexpected. But if we review the overall election situation, those incidents are very insignificant,” Easley said.
“What we have seen is that the voting process of Bangladesh is similar to many countries in the world,” said the leader of international observers team.
They said if all the political parties participated in the elections, the atmosphere would have been more beautiful and joyful.
Talking to the voters in all the centers they observed, they found that they did not face anyobstacles on their way to vote.
They congratulated the Election Commission for conducting the election successfully and efficiently.
Jim Bates, former US congressman and an election observer, also spoke, among others.
The international observers appreciated participation of women voters.
They hoped to make their full report public within two weeks to one month.
“I found (it to be a) very peaceful, free and fair election,” Jim Bates told reporters at a separate media briefing Sunday evening.
“I’d like to say it’s a free and fair election already,” he added.
“The thing they keep talking about is low turnout: that’s a misnomer. In some countries, voting goes on till 5/6 pm or even months,” Bates said.
He said Bangladesh has the shortest voting time in the world.
“So when they say ‘low turnout,’ that’s something to manoeuvre the press,” Bates said.
Bates is a former politician who served as a Democratic elected official from San Diego, California. He served four terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991.
Chandra Arya , Member of Parliament, Canada and Victor Oh, Senator, Canada also briefed the media separately.
The independent election observers from Canada said, “Today the citizens of Bangladesh have exercised their fundamental and valuable right to vote and chose their representatives. Today, in the true spirit of democracy, the people of Bangladesh have determined who get their mandate to take the country forward for the next 5 years.”
Chandra Arya said they will now wait to see the newly elected representatives of the people who will shoulder the responsibility of governing the country and deliver the commitments made during the course of the election campaign.
“We noted that even with the call for boycott, a record number of female candidates and a transgender candidate among the 28 political parties and over 1900 candidates including independents contesting the elections,” he said.
The observers also noted the efforts of the Bangladesh Election Commission to reach out to voters and specifically to the younger generation to encourage them to participate in the elections.
“We confirmed there was a process within the Bangladesh Election Commission to address any complaints from the voters or the political parties or the candidates,” Chandra Arya said.
“We wish to congratulate the Bangladesh Election Commission on successfully conducting a free and fair elections,” he added.
“With one of us being an elected Member of Canadian Parliament and having contested and won three times in row, we are personally aware of the complexity of managing an election.”
The Canadian observers recognized and commended the excellent work of Bangladesh Election Commission in marshaling all the institutions of the state and delivering a “free, fair and successful” election.
In a separate briefing, Head of the Russian election monitoring delegation, Andrey Y Shuvot, said they are satisfied with the peaceful elections.
These elections are legitimate, he told reporters.
Scottish MP Martyn Day in his brief remarks, said the election was fairly smooth, but voter turnout was relatively low.
Chief Electoral Officer of Palestine Hisham Kuhali on Sunday said Bangladeshis should be proud of electoral procedures that are in place and expressed satisfaction over the smooth completion of the vote casting.
“We noticed quiet and peaceful election. We have not noticed any sign of violence,” he told reporters at a media briefing at a Dhaka hotel.
Kuhali said the procedures of casting votes were very simple and straightforward.
“This is very good by international standards,” he said, referring to the time it took to cast a vote.
The international observer said people are well informed and well trained who are helping voters to cast their votes.
Asked about the voters’ turnout, he said, “We are here to judge the voting procedures. You should be proud of your process.”
Member of Arab Parliament Abdihakim Moalliam described the election as “smooth”, conducted in a very efficient way.
He appreciated the democratic exercise in Bangladesh, noting that it was a shining example of peace and unity.
The foreign observers visited several centres.
Around 127 foreign observers are currently in Dhaka to observe the 12th National Parliamentary Election.