US team suggests dialogue, conducive poll environment and free media

The US pre-election observation mission, in its five-point recommendation on Sunday, suggested holding dialogue and creating conducive conditions to ensure the participation of all political parties in the upcoming elections, aiming for free, fair and participatory elections in Bangladesh.

In response, the government said that they don’t feel the need to give importance to the recommendations of foreigners.

The US delegation comprising representatives of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) visited Bangladesh last week ‘to provide an independent and impartial assessment of electoral preparations in advance of Bangladesh’s upcoming 12th Parliamentary Elections; examine factors that could affect the integrity and viability of a credible electoral process; and offer practical and timely recommendations to help improve the prospects for inclusive, transparent, and peaceful elections and public confidence in the process’, the delegation said in their wrap-up statement.

The delegation said that achievements made by the country recently set a strong foundation for it to achieve its 2041 vision of becoming a developed country.

“However, Bangladesh’s democratic journey continues to face several challenges. Despite some areas of progress, the current political environment presents significant obstacles to electoral integrity, including uncompromising and zero-sum politics, highly charged rhetoric, political violence, a widespread climate of uncertainty and fear, contracting civic space and freedom of expression, and a trust deficit among citizens, political leaders, and other stakeholders” the delegation said.

These challenges pose a threat to democratic principles that could undermine the country’s positive trajectory towards sustainable development. Bangladesh is at a crossroads and the upcoming elections provide a litmus test of the country’s commitment to a democratic, participatory, and competitive political process, it added.

The delegation said that the recommendations made by them constitute a roadmap that, if undertaken in the remaining pre-election period and beyond, can help achieve progress toward credible, inclusive, participatory, and nonviolent elections that can advance Bangladesh’s democracy.

The five recommendations are: moderate rhetoric and engage in open and substantive dialogue on key election issues; protect freedom of expression and ensure an open civic space where dissent is respected; commit to nonviolence and hold perpetrators of political violence accountable; create conditions to allow all parties to engage in meaningful political competition, including bolstering independent election management and; promote a culture of inclusive and active electoral participation among citizens.

The delegation recognises that it is the people of Bangladesh who will ultimately determine the credibility and legitimacy of their elections and their country’s democratic development.

The delegation therefore offers this pre-election statement in the spirit of supporting and strengthening democratic institutions in Bangladesh.

In their observation, the delegation said, “The government of Bangladesh has achieved notable successes in economic growth, infrastructure development, poverty reduction and environmental stewardship. However, political paralysis and declining trust in democratic processes cast a shadow on this progress and threatens to undermine the economic and development trajectory. During the 2014 and 2018 parliamentary elections, boycotts, violence, strikes, and electoral irregularities undermined the legitimacy of the outcomes among many Bangladeshis”

”As a result, turnout for national and local elections is now routinely low. In the current election campaign, political violence is persistent, and opposition political figures and government critics face increasing pressure”.

The delegation also noted that the country’s main opposition party is currently planning to boycott parliamentary elections unless the prime minister resigns and installs a nonpartisan election administration, which the government has rejected.

“The resulting deadlock is depriving Bangladeshis of political choice and undermining faith in the political process. In an environment of widespread mistrust, lack of political dialogue could lead to increased tensions and significantly escalate violence”.

About the election administration, it said that though Bangladesh’s constitution and legal framework provide a clear mandate for an independent election commission, in practice, the EC depends on government ministries for staffing and providing security during the voting and counting processes in

“While the ministry can legally direct poll workers and security officials, the delegation heard that, in practice, the EC does not have the capacity to independently identify problems on election day or enforce its directives to poll workers and security personnel” the statement said, adding that this creates an opening for undue political influence on voting and counting, decreases public trust in the overall process and blurs the lines of responsibility between the EC and the government regarding the effective and impartial conduct of the election.

It also observed that the EC’s decision to provide registration to relatively unknown new political parties while denying registration to more established parties raises concerns about its impartiality. Interlocutors also noted the concern that the political affiliation of some election commissioners undermined its willingness to fairly apply election laws.

“Political parties and civil society groups with whom the delegation met did not express significant concerns about electoral preparations or the credibility of the voters list, but noted anecdotal reports of citizens not being able to vote in past elections because they were not included on the list. The delegation remains concerned electoral stakeholders are giving insufficient attention to critical aspects of election preparations, including voter registration, the quality of the voter list, and the training of polling officials” the statement said.

Regarding the campaign environment, the delegation said that three months before the expected election day, the political discourse is dominated not by policy issues or parties’ political platforms, but by the deadlock between the government and opposition parties considering boycotting the process.

The political opposition has been given some space to vigorously campaign against the ruling party, it said, adding that the BNP and other parties have held large protests around the country, often with legal permits from the government. “However, the government’s opponents also face impediments that tilt the playing field against them, including arbitrary denial of permits or partisan obstructions, such as transportation strikes, that hinder participation” it added.

“Echoing reports in Bangladeshi and international media, interlocutors said the government is pursuing what they estimate to be millions of politically motivated and time-consuming court cases against opposition activists and members to impede their election-related activities” the statement said, pointing out that this targeted prosecution is compounded by the widespread view among civil society members, journalists, analysts, and opposition members that spoke to the delegation that the judiciary has been co-opted and that the party registration process is opaque.

About media and information environment, it noted that Bangladesh’s media space includes vocal criticism of the government, but interlocutors from across stakeholder groups argued that legal threats and the media’s business interests often skew a significant portion of news coverage in favour of the government.

“Critical media coverage often provokes government retaliation, which exacerbates self-censorship. For example, some journalists and media figures who criticize the government have faced targeted legal investigations; some have alleged that intelligence and governmental actors have pressured them to change or refrain from printing stories” it said.

Members of the delegation included Bonnie Glick (IRI co-chair), former deputy USAID administrator; Karl F. Inderfurth (NDI co-chair), former assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs; Maria Chin Abdullah, former member of the House of Representatives, Malaysia; Jamil Jaffer, former associate counsel to the President of the United States; Johanna Kao, IRI senior director, Asia-Pacific Division; and Manpreet Singh Anand, NDI regional director, Asia-Pacific. The delegates were joined by technical and country experts from NDI and IRI.

From October 8 to 11, 2023, the delegation met with the prime minister, several cabinet ministers, and other government officials; the Election Commission (EC); party leaders from across the political spectrum; civil society representatives, including citizen election observer group leaders; current and former women members of parliament; representatives of organisations engaging with youth, persons with disabilities (PWD) and religious minorities; media representatives; members of the legal community; and representatives of the international and diplomatic communities.

Meanwhile, asked about the recommendations of the US team, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said that they may give their opinions but the government is not giving importance to the recommendations of the outsiders.

“The media is giving undue importance to them and they are enjoying this,” the minister said adding that nowhere in the world are outsiders allowed to poke their noses in national elections.

In the USA, they will not allow election observers from other countries but we do allow that, he added.

The FM said the government is holding dialogues with all the parties and ensured conditions for a free and fair elections.

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