US will send pre-election monitoring team early Oct: Peter Haas

The United States will be sending a pre-election monitoring team in early October this year, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said on Tuesday.

"I informed him [chief election commissioner] that in early October, the United States will be sending a pre-election assessment and monitoring team comprised of experts from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute, people with vast experience in election monitoring and election preparations," Haas told reporters following his meeting with CEC Kazi Habibul Awal.

"We discussed the changes in RPO, the registration of political parties, the importance of credible election by sending observers," said the US envoy. "The United States' only interest in the election is that they be free, fair, peaceful, and that the people of Bangladesh have the ability to choose who governs them."

Haas also said the US does not think it is a violation of the Vienna Convention when other countries raise issues regarding the country's domestic political affairs.

In reply to a question about the Bangladesh foreign ministry describing 13 envoys' statement on the attack on Ashraful Alom, known as Hero Alom, as a violation of the Vienna Convention, Haas said, "In the United States, when other countries raise issues with us about our domestic political affairs, we listen to them and we see what we can learn from them. We don't view it as a violation of the Vienna Convention."

The meeting, which commenced at around 11:15am, was also attended by Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Ahsan Habib and EC Secretary Jahangir Alam. The US ambassador arrived at the EC office around 11:10am.

In a meeting with the CEC on 8 June last year, Peter Haas said they wanted a general election through which Bangladeshi citizens can freely choose their leadership.

Reiterating the importance of active participation from various stakeholders in ensuring a democratic and transparent electoral process, he said a fair election is not solely the responsibility of the Election Commission but a collective effort that involves all Bangladeshis.

The CEC on Monday said the 12th national elections could be held by the end of December this year or the beginning of January next year.

The visible diplomatic activities by various diplomats have been ongoing for several months in the lead-up to the elections.

Earlier, a six-member Election Exploratory Mission from the European Union arrived in Bangladesh on 9 July. The EU mission had arrived in Bangladesh to assess the pre-electoral conditions, a hot button issue ahead of the national elections slated for December or January. While they held a flurry of meetings with different government and non-government bodies, the delegation consistently asked about the risk of political violence.

Their first week of the visit also coincided with the two-and-a-half day visit by US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya, who met the prime minister and stressed the need for a peaceful democracy.