EU readies major observer mission for Bangladesh poll

"This is a time when the country [Bangladesh] can change the narrative, can reset its reputation with its international partners and demonstrate that it can hold these elections in a very correct and professional manner," he said after an hour-long meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.

"As you know, the European Union supports timely, smooth and participatory elections. And we see in such elections the great opportunity for Bangladesh to reset the narrative in terms of its own democratic path," the EU Ambassador said. 

Miller said he had recently joined the Chief Election Commissioner during a mock exercise aimed at ensuring the Commission’s preparedness for holding elections that would include both the popular vote and the referendum on the July Charter.

The EU Ambassador said he had been impressed by the level of advanced preparation of the Election Commission and the advanced consideration of the logistical challenges that holding an election and a referendum on the same day will imply. 

"What I want to add is that the European Union recognises the commitment and the professionalism of the Bangladesh Election Commission and its capacity to run well-prepared elections.  This is a sign of our confidence in the election process and our support for elections in this wonderfully diverse country," he said.

The EU Ambassador said the preparations are well in hand for these elections, and there will inevitably be challenges.

"You have a huge country with a huge population and it is the first time for many of your citizens to go to the polls for a number of reasons. So there is a job now of civic voter education that has to be completed.  That will imply popular debate, it will imply the government, it will imply the Election Commission going and telling your ordinary voters what it means to take part in an election and perhaps with a little bit more complexity, what the referendum means, and what it implies, because that will be a very exciting moment for this country,” Miller said.

Stating that there is a very significant consideration of the logistical challenges, also of potential security challenges, Miller said, "What we are discussing with all of the Bangladeshi stakeholders involved in this vote  is how do you mitigate the risks and how do you ensure that the elections are smooth and participatory. That's what we want to see. 

The EU Ambassador also mentioned the challenge will be that you have a generation of citizens who did not take part in previous polls, either because they rejected the polls themselves because they knew they would not be free and fair, or they feared that the act of voting would be accompanied by violence. 

"So, you have a whole generation of individuals, and maybe more, who have never cast their vote. That will be a challenge because people need to understand what they are doing. Logistically, on the day of the election, the day of the referendum itself, people will need to understand what they are doing before they turn up to vote, so that they will be able to vote on time," Miller said.

Mentioning that there will be an extension of the voting time foreseen by the Election Commission, which I think is very wise, because you will have delays due to the political history of your country, reports UNB. 

"We see that the Election Commission is thinking ahead about all the possible complexities on the day itself, and they are taking all the mitigating measures that we can imagine," he said, adding, “So this work continues. We still don't have an election schedule, of course, but we are looking forward to that announcement, and then we will continue to support the holding of the first democratic elections that Bangladesh has seen in a very long time.”

Miller said all stakeholders in this country should be very focused on the possibility of holding the first free and fair elections in many, many years. "What I want to pass as a message is it is a moment for this country to show that it is bucking the trend on democratic backsliding," he said.