Ahead of the arrival of high-power American diplomats, a six-member Election Exploratory Mission of the European Union started a two-week visit to Bangladesh early on July 9. The delegation is expected to meet leaders from various parties, including from the Opposition BNP, heads of ministries and religious minority organisations during the next fortnight.
According to a report by Samay TV, the EU delegation met with at least 12 foreign envoys and representatives soon after arriving in Dhaka. They also met with Charles Whiteley, the EU’s Ambassador to Bangladesh. An official of the Government of Bangladesh said the visit would ultimately determine if Brussels would send a team of observers for the upcoming election in Bangladesh. The team is being led by Riccardo Chelleri, Policy Officer, European External Action Service (EEAS). He had earlier led a similar delegation to Sri Lanka in 2019.
“The task of this mission will be to assess the scope, planning, budget, logistics and security of the main election observation mission,” Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, Director-General in-charge of Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters last Thursday. He said the visit was being carried out in consultation with the Election Commission of Bangladesh.
Free, fair poll
The EU team’s visit, which will coincide with the arrival of U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya and Assistant Secretary of State in-charge of South Asia Donald Lu, is being viewed with keen regional interest as the EU, which is also a member of the G-20, has been vocal in recent months about its support for a free and fair election in Bangladesh. India has invited Bangladesh as a “guest country” for the upcoming G-20 summit to be held here in September. The U.S. diplomats are expected to reach Dhaka on July 11 after completing interactions in India.
The election in Bangladesh has been drawing attention from various countries as Dhaka has emerged as an aspiring economic model in the South-Southeast Asian region. The Sheikh Hasina government has also created further interest in the country’s strategic orientation by its recent unveiling of what it calls an “Indo-Pacific Outlook”. The sentiment for a “free and fair” election in Bangladesh has mainly been articulated by the U.S. and the EU. Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a visa ban on Bangladeshi individuals if they are found to be involved in the “undermining of democratic election process”.
The Government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated its commitment to holding a transparent election but that has not stopped the flow of remarks from the EU and the U.S. This has been fuelled more importantly by the demand of the main Opposition BNP to replace the Hasina government with a caretaker administration before the conduct of the election, which is expected in December. The BNP has threatened to boycott the poll if a caretaker government is not formed by then. In a letter written last week to Ivan Stefanek, Slovakian Representative to the European Parliament, Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has called for participation of all parties in the election.
Key export market
The visit of the Election Exploratory Mission and its report to the EU authorities is also economically significant for Dhaka as the EU is the main export market for the textile industry of the country, which is known for its quality products. The EU is also in tough competition with China for the top slot in trade with Bangladesh. The Hasina government has however received support from Moscow, which has termed the EU’s declarations on Bangladesh’s election a sign of “neocolonialism”.
“This is an attempt at blatant interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state whose authorities, as we understand it, have not asked for advice on how to conduct elections. For our part, we support Dhaka in its desire to pursue an independent domestic and foreign policy that meets the interests of Bangladesh itself,” the spokesperson of Russia’s Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said last Thursday.
The delegation is expected to leave Bangladesh on July 23.