Bangladesh
Caretaker Govt It's not possible at this time to meet the demands of caretaker govt: International Election Observation Team
Dhaka, July 31: Tenet Finance International Group representative and election observer Terry L. Isley said the demand for an independent caretaker government under the current circumstances is unconstitutional and illegal. Bangladesh's constitution does not authorize a caretaker government.
On the invitation of the Election Monitoring Forum, they held a meeting with the International Observer Election Commission, the Home Minister and the State Minister for Foreign Affairs on Sunday.
Foreign observers held a meeting with the commission at Agargaon election building at 10 am. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal, four election commissioners were present. Japanese political analyst and social activist Yusuki Sugu and Chinese political analyst and social activist N.D. Lin were present in the observation team.
Terry L Islay said, on behalf of international representatives and observers, we want to say that your election commission is authorized by the constitution, they are independent. So that they can organize transparent elections.
This observer said, if you want a caretaker government, you have to change the constitution. The Commission cannot do this even if it wants to, because it has no legal framework to make the change. We talked about it. This is not possible at the moment. As members of the international observers' team, we believe that the commission will be able to organize fair elections under this government. I do not represent the US government. Recently, the US Secretary of State said that they want fair elections in the country. We also think that the Election Commission will be able to conduct fair elections.
European Union representative journalist Nick Paul said, there was a fruitful discussion with the Election Commission. We hope they can hold free and fair elections according to the constitution.
Chairman of Election Monitoring Forum Abed Ali said, we had a very cordial discussion with the commission. They wanted to know about the preparations for the upcoming elections and the recent elections. Representatives of the European Union, including the United States, want to come to the next election. Wanted to know the rules of the EC in this regard. The EC has assured that observers can come before and after the vote. There is no obstruction from the commission.
Meanwhile, the main opposition BNP has refused to hold a meeting with the International Election Observation Team. Observers have expressed surprise at this incident.
