Doesn't matter if someone observes the general election or not: Hasan Mahmud

Information and Broadcasting Minister Hasan Mahmud on Friday asserted that the upcoming general election will be free and fair no matter whether foreign observers come or not.

“The election is ours. All the elections that had already been held including local government elections were very free and fair. It doesn't matter if someone observed our election or not,” said the minister.

The minister said this while exchanging views with journalists on contemporary issues at the YNT Center on Dewanji Pukur Lane in Chattogram city. Awami League Relief and Social Welfare Secretary Aminul Islam Amin was present on the occasion.

Do foreign observers go in India when elections are held there?, asked Hasan. “Is there so much talk about it? Or when elections are held in different countries of Europe, do we send observers from our country or any other countries? We don't.”

“The European Union (EU) has said it will send a small-scale observer team. They also mentioned their budget shortfall in the letter. Whether the EU observer comes in any form or not, we have election monitoring forums in our country, and observers from various SAARC countries will come to monitor the election,” he said.

"So we will hold our election and it will be very fair, free and neutral," Hasan added.