US pre-election assessment team due in Dhaka on Oct 7

A delegation from the United States-funded International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), will visit Bangladesh between October 7 and 13.

US Embassy (Dhaka) Spokesperson Bryan Schiller said this on Thursday, reads a press release.

In accordance with the NDI‍‍`s Declaration of Principles for International Observers, this pre-election assessment mission will determine whether to dispatch of a limited foreign election observation team on Bangladeshi national election day.

Bryan Schiller said, the principal responsibility is to offer unbiased information on election preparation and the electoral context.

The delegation will include six delegates plus support staff, he also said.

The team set to meet the Bangladesh Election Commission, government agencies, political parties, citizen observers, civil society organizations including women‍‍`s and youth groups, Bangladesh and international media organizations, and foreign diplomatic missions. 

Finally, the delegation will issue a public statement highlighting positive trends as well as areas of concern and offering practical recommendations, the handout said.  

Additionally, the team will also likely hold a series of briefings and consultations with relevant international stakeholders, policymakers in Washington, D.C., and constituencies supporting electoral integrity in Bangladesh.

Mentionable, the pre-election assessment firm conducted a survey between March and April 2023 which reported 70 percent of Bangladeshi voters (respondents) thought PM Sheikh Hasina doing ‍‍`a good job‍‍`. The report broke into Bangladeshi media outlets on August.

That study found that 53 percent of Bangladeshis believed the country was headed in the wrong direction, while 44 percent though it was in right direction.

Since its founding in 1983, IRI, a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization, has worked in more than 100 countries—in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa, according to IRI website.

On the other hand, NDI and its local partners work to promote openness and accountability in government by building political and civic organizations, safeguarding elections, and promoting citizen participation, as per the organization website.

Bangladesh is expected to hold national elections in January next year.