The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The Election Commission is taking special steps for foreign election observers by facilitating visa processing alongside amending the guidelines for them to ensure free, fair and acceptable elections in the country.

The EC has fixed some outlines about the guidelines, accreditation and grant of visas for foreign election observers as some organizations like the NDI and IRI have contacted the commission about election observation and also enquired about formalities regarding obtaining visas and other related matters.

Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda chaired a high-profile meeting in connection with the election observation by foreign observers on October 28 in the EC conference room, in preparation for dealing with the armies of poll monitors.

Election Commissioners M Sohul Hussain and Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, EC secretary M Humaun Kabir, Foreign Affairs secretary Md Towhid Hossain, Information secretary Jamil Osman and Home Affairs additional secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid were among others present at the meeting.

There are two categories of foreign election observers-short-term and long-term teams. Short-term observers mostly concentrate on observation during the poll day while long-term ones cover pre-poll, polling and post-poll activities, the meeting outlined.

It was informed that the guidelines for the foreign observers prepared by the Election Commission have to be reviewed, suitably amended and issued afresh.

"The revised guidelines shall contain, among others, an application form for foreign observers, procedures for obtaining visas, a code of conduct and other necessary information," the meeting decided.

The entire guidelines with the application form will be available on the website of the commission and all interested persons or organizations would be able to download that to meet their requirements.

The Ministry of Foreign affairs will inform all its diplomatic missions abroad about the guidelines and the websites so that the missions may advise the interested parties when they approach them for assistance.

About accreditation of foreign observers, the meeting advised that the foreign observers intending to observe the forthcoming elections should need to apply to the Commission in the prescribed form as given in the guidelines.

Filled-out forms may be sent to the Commission either through email or by fax. Local offices of foreign diplomatic missions or of regional groups or international organizations may forward the applications directly to the commission by special messengers or mail.