US to send pre-polls observers in October
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Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal at the Election Commission office yesterday.
“The United States’s only interest in the election is that it would be free, fair and peaceful. And that the people of Bangladesh have the ability to choose who governs them,” Peter Haas told reporters after the meeting.
“I informed him [the CEC] that the US will send a pre-election monitoring team in early October.”
It will include experts from the National Democratic Institute, International Republican Institute, and people with vast experience in election monitoring and preparations.
Haas, however, said he could not yet provide the detailed schedule of the team’s visit.
The US ambassador said he and the CEC discussed a number of issues, including the recent changes to the Representation of the People Order (RPO), the approval process for new political parties, election assessment and monitoring teams.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, CEC Kazi Habibul Awal said the US ambassador heard about the EC’s power being curtailed as a result of the recent amendments to the RPO.
“We explained to him how the EC’s power was rather enhanced [through the amendment].”
He added Haas also learned that the commission has taken steps to provide registration opportunities to parties that are less active in politics.
“We told him we are strictly following the criteria of registering a political party. Two such parties have fulfilled the criteria and are getting registered.
Habibul also told Haas that the role of the media and observers is important for transparency in elections.
“He [Peter Haas] wanted to know whether the journalists on motorcycles would be allowed to do their jobs on election day. We told him we were considering it,” the CEC said.
The US shared its decision to send the pre-polls monitoring team nine days after the EU’s Election Exploratory Mission wrapped up its July 9-23 visit to Bangladesh.
The mission, led by Riccardo Chelleri, will prepare a report on the outcome of the visit, based on which the EU will determine whether it would send an election observing team during the parliamentary polls, slated for late December or early January.
VIENNA CONVENTION
Meanwhile, Peter Haas yesterday told reporters, “In the US, when other countries raise issues with us about our domestic political affairs, we listen to them and see what we can learn from them. We don’t feel it a violation of the Vienna Convention.”
Haas said this when asked about State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam’s comment saying the joint statement by 13 foreign missions, condemning the attack on Dhaka-17 by-polls’ candidate Hero Alom, was a violation of the Vienna Convention.
The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries.
On July 26, Alam termed the joint statement condemning the attack a “violation of diplomatic norms” and urged the missions to refrain from “non-diplomatic behaviour” in the future.
He said the convention’s article 41(1) states that without prejudice to their privileges and immunities, it is the duty of all persons enjoying such privileges and immunities to respect the laws and regulations of the receiving State. They also have a duty not to interfere in the internal affairs of that State.
While, he added, article 41(2) says all official business with the receiving State entrusted to the mission by the sending State shall be conducted with or through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the receiving State or such other ministry as may be agreed.
The 13 missions – the US, UK, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the EU – in the statement called upon the government to conduct a full investigation into the attack and take legal steps against the perpetrators.