Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Bangladesh Ivars Ijabs on Thursday said it is really a big day for Bangladesh’s democracy as they observed the country’s twin elections-- national election and referendum - across the country.
"I think this really a big day for Bangladesh’s democracy," he told reporters at Siddheswari Girls' College at New Bailey Road after observing the opening of the vote casting.
Ijabs said they were all looking forward to have 'participatory, credible and trusted' elections in Bangladesh in this historical moment.
He said they will continue to monitor the vote counting process.
Talking to reporters after visiting Curzon Hall polling centre at Dhaka University, Ijabs said the EU mission is closely monitoring voting across the country through its observers deployed nationwide.
“We have seen a lot of positive enthusiasm and participation on behalf of Bangladeshi citizens, and let us all hope that it’s going to stay like that until the very end of the voting,” he said.
They deployed 90 short-term observers (STOs) to observe the election day proceedings in all 64 administrative districts of the country.
The short-term observers will observe opening of polling centres, voting, closing, as well as counting of the ballots and the tabulation of results.
With a total of 200 observers deployed across the country, he said they are contributing to the transparency of these historic elections.
The EU EOM chief said the mission is maintaining online contact with its observers stationed across Bangladesh and receiving regular updates on the opening of polling stations, voter turnout and overall conduct of the election process.
“They are reporting on how the polling stations are being opened, how many people participate. And, of course, we are getting the reports from everywhere in the country where all our observers are,” he said.
Ijabs reiterated that the EU mission remains strictly neutral. “We are absolutely neutral. We are not taking part in any political process. We are observing,” he said.
He said the mission has deployed over 200 observers across Bangladesh, covering cities, towns and rural areas, to ensure a comprehensive and fact-based assessment of the election.
According to him, most polling stations observed so far opened on time, while the voting process was continuing peacefully.
Responding to queries from journalists, the chief observer said the mission receives various types of information as part of its observation work but would refrain from making comments during the ongoing voting process.
“As for our comments on the process, we will produce them later on, because otherwise, that would be involvement in the politics and the voting process,” he said.
The EU EOM is expected to release its preliminary report at 12pm on February 14, following completion of its assessment of polling, counting and tabulation processes.
