Meetings with BNP leaders and Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen were held on Wednesday, December 27, at Sylhet by a mission of the European Union Election Expert Mission to Bangladesh 2023.

Momen and the mission met at around six o'clock in the evening at the latter's home in Dhopadighirpara, Sylhet city.

Rebecca Cox, an expert in law and human rights, and Charlotte Souibes, an expert in media and social media, attended the conference.
Momen spoke with journalists at his home following the meeting.

He claimed that although the EU mission members asked several questions concerning the election, they remained silent.

He informed the mission that the Election Commission is striving to make the national election impartial and fair, and that there will be no phone votes cast in Bangladesh.

The world can learn from the elections that the EC will hold.

He stated that no one is obstructing anyone in Sylhet as all the candidates are running their campaigns according to the election regulations in their unique ways.

The foreign minister addressed the arrests of BNP leaders and activists, stating that law enforcement had detained people who were engaged in terrorist activities, not any of the BNP leaders or activists.

The minister also mentioned how powerful the current EC is.

Everyone will be able to cast a ballot transparently at any polling place.

"The nation of Bangladesh is autonomous. Many items that foreigners wish to sell to Bangladesh are rejected since the government only purchases necessities for the populace. For this reason, he stated, some countries are grumbling and not happy.

The BNP and the visiting EU mission had already met in the afternoon at a nearby hotel in Sylhet.

Attending the meeting were the advisers to the BNP chairperson, Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, and the BNP president of the Sylhet district, Qayyum Chowdhury.

They did not provide the meeting's details to the media.

Nonetheless, a BNP source claimed that the meeting's topics included the nation's current state of affairs and the government's ruthless persecution of the opposition parties.