EU representatives meet CEC

A team comprising high-level representatives from the European Union (EU), led by EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley, has attended a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of Bangladesh Kazi Habibul Awal.

The 10-member EU delegation includes EU Deputy Head Dr Bernd Spanier, Political Officer Sebastian Riger-Brown, Sweden Ambassador Alexandra Berg Von Linde, Spain Ambassador Francisco de Asis Benitez Salas, Italy Ambassador Antonio Alessandro, Netherlands Ambassador Irma van Dueren, Danish Ambassador Christian Brix Moller, Embassy of France Deputy Chief Gillaume Audren de Kerdrel, German Deputy Ambassador Jan Janowski.

Last week, the EU sought an appointment with CEC Habibul Awal on 27 November to hold a joint meeting ahead of the country's 12th parliamentary elections.

On Wednesday (29 November) morning, the EU Ambassador to Bangladesh confirmed the arrival of a specialised four-member EU technical team in Dhaka

This team has been tasked with monitoring the national election process and is expected to commence its operations starting Sunday, according to Election Commission sources.

Previously, a six-member exploratory election mission of the EU visited Bangladesh in July and held meetings with the Election Commission and political parties.

The EU in October said it would send a five-member team to observe the 12th parliamentary elections of Bangladesh scheduled for 7 January.

According to Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md Jahangir Alam, the European Union will not send its full-fledged election observation team to Bangladesh during the upcoming national election due to "budget constraints".