An eight-member European Union Election Exploratory Mission arrived in Dhaka on Monday to assess the political climate and logistical preparedness ahead of Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections.
The delegation held a two-phase meeting at the Election Commission (EC) headquarters in Agargaon, engaging first with senior EC Secretariat officials and later with Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah.
According to EC Joint Secretary (Election Management-2) Md Moin Uddin Khan, the EU team met with officials from the Commission’s vote management, legal, technical, and administrative wings to discuss the overall electoral environment, the EC’s preparedness, and the feasibility of deploying a full-scale EU election observation mission for the upcoming polls.
The first session ran from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, followed by a meeting with Commissioner Sanaullah from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
EC officials confirmed that the EU mission is conducting a series of consultations with government agencies, civil society organizations, political stakeholders, and election management bodies to evaluate conditions for credible, inclusive, and transparent elections.
During the EC meeting, discussions focused on key areas including progress on the EC’s electoral roadmap and legal reforms aimed at enhancing transparency and participation; implementation of postal ballot systems; registration of new political parties; finalization and verification of the voter list; training of election officials and poll workers; delimitation of constituency boundaries and establishment of polling stations; and accreditation and coordination with domestic and international observer groups.
The EC is targeting the first half of February, before the onset of Ramadan, to hold the national elections. The official election schedule is expected to be announced in early December.
The EU’s exploratory visit is a standard preliminary step to determine whether to deploy a full election observation mission. Its findings will inform the EU’s decision on the scale and scope of international observation for the 2024 parliamentary polls.