The election observers of India, Nepal, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have expressed their satisfaction over the election process of 11th parliamentary polls in Bangladesh.
The observers on Sunday afternoon said that the elections were peaceful and organised. Neighbouring India sent a three-member team to Bangladesh. “We’ve observed the elections in different places. Bangladesh Election Commission has finished the elections in an organised and clean manner. We found a festive mood in the polls,” said Ariz Aftab, visiting chief electoral officer of India’s West Bengal in a press conference at a hotel here.
The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also held a press briefing at the same hotel. The OIC’s high-level election observation team led by assistant Secretary-General of the OIC, Hamid OpeloyeruIndia, visited several polling centres.
“We visited the voting centres at Wari, Munshiganj and Narayanganj. We are satisfied seeing a peaceful atmosphere and spontaneous presence of the voters,” OpeloyeruIndia said.
Asked about the deaths due to poll-related violence, the OIC leader said the incidents can be termed as sporadic incidents. “The incidents of death are accidental,” he stated.
About the credibility of the elections, he said the election officers worked timely and in a disciplined manner.
If these international standards are met, it means the elections were credible, OpeloyeruIndia added.
The OIC leader also said he saw agents of the AL, BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Workers Party at the polling booths.
At another press conference, two members of Nepalese election observers said that as they were curious about EVM voting, they observed the election processes at Dhaka-6 and Dhaka-13. The team leader of the Nepalese observers, Dependra Kandal, said the election atmosphere was fair and uncontaminated.
“I’ve so far visited five centres. I’m proud of being a witness of this election. I saw voters cast their votes at every centre with joy,” a representative from SAARC said.
