Dhaka, Jan 14 (V7N) — The European Union (EU) will deploy 56 long-term election observers across Bangladesh starting January 17 to monitor the overall electoral process ahead of the upcoming national elections.

The information was shared during a courtesy meeting between members of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) and Professor Ali Riaz, Special Assistant to the Principal Advisor, held on Tuesday afternoon.

The EU delegation included Marcel Negi, Political Analyst of the EU Election Observation Mission, and Vasyl Vaschenko, Election Analyst. During the meeting, the delegation briefed Professor Ali Riaz on the structure, mandate and scope of the EU observation mission.

According to the EU representatives, the 56 long-term observers will be stationed in different parts of the country to observe pre-election activities, including the political environment, campaign conduct and electoral preparations. In addition, 90 short-term observers will join the mission shortly before polling day to observe voting, counting and the results tabulation process.

The EU delegation said the mission will conduct its work in line with European Union election observation standards, aiming to provide a fact-based, comprehensive and impartial assessment of the entire electoral process.

They also informed that the mission will publish its preliminary findings on February 14, followed by a press conference to present the initial assessment.

Professor Ali Riaz assured the EU team that the government would provide full cooperation to the election observation mission to ensure a transparent and credible monitoring process.

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