Diplomatic Correspondent

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Sarah Cooke on Monday said the United Kingdom (UK) is supportive of the consensus building and reform process to help create a condition for "free, fair and inclusive" elections in Bangladesh.

She made the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with the Election Commission in the capital.

Sarah Cooke said she had a very productive first meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin and his team.

The CEC said the UK envoy and her team had been to the EC to get an idea about its preparations regarding the next general election and the foreign observer issue. “They (UK) want to provide assistance in the democratic transition of Bangladesh.”

Nasir Uddin said they informed the UK diplomat that the voter registration programme now continues and public notification has been issued seeking applications from the political parties that desire to be registered.

“Now we will go for procurement soon (targeting the next election). The procurement is a time-consuming matter,” he said.

About the election observers, the CEC said the domestic observer policy needs to be revised, unlike the foreign observer policy. The EC will initiate the process of seeking applications from the foreign observers timely ahead of the next national election.

EC gearing up for polls

Nasir Uddin informed Sarah Cooke that since there is a timeline (for the election) – the earliest is in December – the EC is preparing with that in mind.

“If the elections are held in December, we will have to announce the election schedule in October. We are preparing in such a way so that we do not miss the timeline,” he said.

The CEC said the envoy wanted to know what kind of assistance the EC seeks from the UK in the next election.

In response, the CEC said they are thinking of giving training to election agents and election observers about electoral conduct rules and laws. “We told them if they can help us, they are welcome,” he said.