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US too won't send polls observers

EC now counts on locals

Diplomatic Correspondent
following in the footsteps of the EH and the Commonwealth, the US has decided not to send observers for the January 5 election, citing the absence of an atmosphere for free and fair polls.
Dhaka's diplomatic circles consider the latest US stance as the last nail in the coffin of a flawed election that sees a majority of candidates elected unopposed amid a boycott by the opposition.
"The United States notes with disappointment, however, that the major political parties have not yet reached consensus on a way to achieve such elections, since more than half of the parliamentary seats are uncontested for the January 5 polls," said State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki early yesterday.
"In this context, the US will not deploy observers for these elections. We remain prepared to reengage our observation efforts at a later time in a more conducive environment."
Later in the day, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said local teams would monitor the 10th parliamentary' election if foreign organisations did not send theirs.
"Every organisation has its own policy and procedure regarding a deployment of observers. It is their own decision whether they will send observers or not. If anyone does not come, others will come. Moreover, local organisations will observe the election," he told reporters at the EC Secretariat.
Asked whether the observer issue would raise questions about the credibility of the polls, the CEC did not give any direct answer. Instead, he told newsmen that they would see conditions for themselves and point out to the people of the country' if any' anomalies were found.
Replying to a question, he said the international community's refusal to
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send observers was not connected with bilateral relations.
Usually in local government elections and by-polls, the EC assigns some of its upazila and district-level officers as election observers. This time, the commission is thinking about engaging them in the national polls, an election official told The Daily Star.
The 28-member European Union on December 20 and the Commonwealth of 53 independent countries on December 22 made it known that they would not send observers, saying the environment was not conducive to an inclusive and credible election despite many efforts.
Diplomatic sources said that the entire international community was perturbed at the prevailing political situation centring around the 10th general election.
The UN, EU, US, China, Canada, Japan and others had left no stone unturned to mediate a breakthrough between the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP.
With the government gearing up for the election, the BNP-Jamaat-led 18-party alliance enforced aggressive blockades one after another. Violence flared up countrywide, claiming more than a hundred lives in the last one month.
Against this backdrop, the US urged the major parties to continue their dialogue and redouble their efforts to find a solution.
People deserve the opportunity to elect their representatives in a climate free of violence and intimidation, its statement read.
"The nation's political leadership - and those who aspire to lead - must ensure law and order and refrain from supporting violence, inflammatory rhetoric, and intimidation."
The US says it believes all parties and citizens have the right to freely and peacefully express their views. "The government is responsible to provide space for such activity; equally, the opposition is responsible to use such space in a peaceful manner."
On December 20, a spokesperson of EU High Representative Catherine Ashton in a statement said the EU had decided to halt for now preparations for the deployment of an Election Observation Mission as the political forces had failed to create the necessary atmosphere for the election.
Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah, steering committee member of Election Working Group (EWG), said, "We are yet to finalise whether we will deploy observers in the election."
He added, "Reviewing the political situation, we will make the final decision just a few days before the voting day."
Earlier on December 17, a delegation of EWG, an alliance of 29 organisations, met the CEC.
After the meeting, Taleya Rehman, another steering committee member of the group, told reporters that if violence continued, it might not deploy observers at the 10th parliamentary election considering their security.
Sharmin Murshid, Chief Executive Officer of Brotee, a non-government organisation and election observer, yesterday told The Daily Star, "We have the plan to observe the polls, if security permits."
BRIEFING TO DIPLOMATS
In what looked like last-minute efforts to gain support for the election, the government yesterday briefed a group of foreign diplomats about the security measures taken for credible and peaceful polls.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, who briefed the ambassadors and mission chiefs in Bangladesh from South and Southeast Asian countries, said the "all-party election time government" was extending all-out support to the EC towards creating a conducive environment for the polls.
Prime Minister's International Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi and Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque were also present during the briefing, said a foreign ministry press release.
Sources said more such diplomatic briefings would be arranged in the next couple of days.
The foreign minister informed the envoys about the various security measures under the directives of the Election Commission, to prevent BNP-Jamaat's "terrorist attacks" on the lives and property of the common people, especially the minorities, as well on the state institutions.
He said the government would heighten security and ensure full safety of diplomatic missions in Bangladesh as well as foreign nationals.
The participating envoys thanked the government and expressed their satisfaction at the additional security measures provided for the diplomatic zones in Gulshan and Baridhara areas.