LONDON, CMC – Former Jamaica prime minister Bruce Golding will head a 10-member Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) to observe Bangladesh’s general elections on January 7 next year.
“It is my honor and privilege to have been asked to lead this team and to serve the Commonwealth once again. I am pleased to be collaborating with this expert team, which usually includes experts from diverse backgrounds, countries, and professions. In conducting our duties in Bangladesh, we pledge to remain objective, transparent, and independent,” Golding said.
Chief Election Commissioner Habibul Awal said the 12th parliamentary election will be held on January 7 in 300 seats.’
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), whose top leaders are either jailed or in exile, has already said it will boycott the polls if Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina does not resign and transfer power to a non-partisan caretaker government to oversee the general election.
Hasina has led Bangladesh for the past 15 years. Her main rival and two-time premier, BNP leader Khaleda Zia, is under house arrest for what her party calls trumped-up corruption charges.
The Jamaat-e-Islami, the largest Islamist party in the Muslim-majority country, and the Islami Andolon Bangladesh (IAB) party also said they would boycott the polls.
The London-based Commonwealth Secretariat said Golding is one of two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nationals observing the polls. The other is Miss Terry Dale Ince, gender and human rights advocate, organizational development consultant, and founder of the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago.
“The Commonwealth’s commitment to fostering peaceful, fair, and credible elections is unwavering. Impartial and independent elections observers provide valuable recommendations to improve and strengthen the elections and democratic processes,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.
“The team’s deployment demonstrates the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to supporting electoral democracy in our 56 member countries and safeguarding the rights of the people of Bangladesh as they participate in these pivotal elections,” she added.
The Secretariat said that the expert team will consider all aspects of the election process and provide their observations on whether the elections are conducted in line with the democratic standards Bangladesh has committed itself to. Staff members from the Commonwealth Secretariat will also support the CET.
The other team members are drawn from Cameroon, India, Kenya, Maldives, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.
“Throughout their time in Bangladesh, the CET will meet various stakeholders, including political parties, police, civil society groups, citizen observer and monitor groups, as well as representatives from the media,” the Secretariat said.
It said that from January 6, the team will also deploy in small groups around the country to observe electoral preparations in their respective areas and, on election day, observe the opening, voting, closing, counting, and results management processes.
and then  to observe Bangladesh’s general elections){kind=link}