Bangladesh nat’l polls

EU won’t send observers

Delegation of the European Union (EU) yesterday said they will not send election observers to oversee the upcoming parliamentary polls in Bangladesh due to shortage of time.

“There are several reasons. Sending a full-fledged team involves a lot of preparations. We’ve to start at least six months in advance,” Rensji Teerink, ambassador head of the delegtaion of the European Union to Bangladesh, told journalists at Nirbachan Bhaban.

“There is a lot of pressure and interest from all our partner countries to get election observation mission. The decision is taken at the headquarters on the basis of priority. We can’t keep all their requests. Hence, we aren’t sending observers,” she added.

Speaking about the parliamentary election, she said: “It’s a tough task, and we wish the Election Commission (EC) best of luck. It’s very challenging too. There are 104 million voters and over 40,000 poll centres. We hope it will be a free and fair election.”

About their purpose of visit to the EC, she said: “We have come here to basically introduce our experts, who will be here for 40 days and observe the entire electoral process. They will probably give us some recommendations. So, the purpose of this mission is to show that the European Union is very interested in the general election in Bangladesh.”

Meanwhile, the EC plans to allocate Tk. 400 crore of the total Tk. 732 crore for deployment of law enforcers across the country.

In the 10th parliamentary poll, the expenditure was Tk. 183 crore, in the ninth national poll it was Tk. 98 crore, in the eighth it stood at Tk. 42 crore and in the seventh general election the expenditure was Tk. 18 crore.

The total budget of the EC involving police, BGB and RAB is Tk. 512 crore. The police and RAB have sought Tk. 224 crore, while the BGB and Ansar have asked for Tk. 58 crore and Tk. 230. The army and Coast Guard haven’t placed any demand yet, EC sources said.

EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said: “We’ve asked law enforcers to let us know about their budget for the deployment of forces during the election within a week. We’ll allocate them after their demand is placed.”

Bangladesh natl polls

EU wont send observers

Delegation of the European Union (EU) yesterday said they will not send election observers to oversee the upcoming parliamentary polls in Bangladesh due to shortage of time. There are several reasons. Sending a full-fledged team involves a lot of preparations. Weve to start at least six months in advance, Rensji Teerink, ambassador head of the delegtaion of the European Union to Bangladesh, told journalists at Nirbachan Bhaban. There is a lot of pressure and interest from all our partner countries to get election observation mission. The decision is taken at the headquarters on the basis of priority. We cant keep all their requests. Hence, we arent sending observers, she added. Speaking about the parliamentary election, she said: Its a tough task, and we wish the Election Commission (EC) best of luck. Its very challenging too. There are 104 million voters and over 40,000 poll centres. We hope it will be a free and fair election. About their purpose of visit to the EC, she said: We have come here to basically introduce our experts, who will be here for 40 days and observe the entire electoral process. They will probably give us some recommendations. So, the purpose of this mission is to show that the European Union is very interested in the general election in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, the EC plans to allocate Tk. 400 crore of the total Tk. 732 crore for deployment of law enforcers across the country. In the 10th parliamentary poll, the expenditure was Tk. 183 crore, in the ninth national poll it was Tk. 98 crore, in the eighth it stood at Tk. 42 crore and in the seventh general election the expenditure was Tk. 18 crore. The total budget of the EC involving police, BGB and RAB is Tk. 512 crore. The police and RAB have sought Tk. 224 crore, while the BGB and Ansar have asked for Tk. 58 crore and Tk. 230. The army and Coast Guard havent placed any demand yet, EC sources said. EC secretary Helal Uddin Ahmed said: Weve asked law enforcers to let us know about their budget for the deployment of forces during the election within a week. Well allocate them after their demand is placed.