The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

The European Commission (EC) has decided to re-deploy a full EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for parliamentary elections in Bangladesh scheduled for December 18.

The decision was taken following the repeal of elements of the Emergency Power Rules early this month, an EC release disclosed here On Tuesday.

The EC suspended its observation mission in January 2007 in the wake of political turmoil between major parties over the abortive elections slated for January 22.

Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner has communicated her decision to Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed by a letter on Monday.

The re-deployed EOM will be led by Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, Member of the European Parliament.

The release said a number of experts on election assessment, who will form the Core Team of the Mission, arrived here on November 7.

Ferrero-Waldner said the European Commission knows that both the international community and the Bangladeshi people have looked forward to this decision on the re-deployment.

She said the Commission, from the very beginning, was committed to re-activate the EOM once acceptable conditions for the conduct of democratic elections were in place.

"The European institutions and the Member States have attached great importance to, and have supported, the political and legal reforms in Bangladesh since January 2007 that aimed at setting the right conditions for credible and democratic elections in December 2008," she said.

Ferrero said "notwithstanding the difficulties that still exist, I now believe that the conditions exist which allow the EU EOM to be redeployed. I encourage both the Caretaker Government and the political parties to make all efforts to ensure this election reflects the will of the Bangladeshi people who always expressed their commitment to democratic government."

Dr Stefan Frowein, Head of the European Commission Delegation to Bangladesh, said: the decision to re-deploy the full EOM constitutes a recognition of the impressive progress made by the government, Election Commission and other authorities to create conditions conducive to a free, fair and credible election.

He said the European Commission has sent a signal of its confidence in the preparations for the parliamentary elections and its absolute commitment to scrutinizing this critical event in the democratic history of Bangladesh. "It is now incumbent upon all political stakeholders to discharge their democratic duties in a manner which is mindful of the stability and prosperity of this country," he noted.

Explaining the work plan by EU EOM, Frowein said altogether some 150 EU Observers will be in place on Election Day. This is a major commitment to Bangladesh's democratic development.

He said the re-deployed Election Observation Mission, which consists of a Core Team of 10 election experts (including the Chief Observer), was deployed on November 7 to co-ordinate the assessment of the entire election process. They will be joined by 46 Long-Term Observers (LTOs) to be deployed in two stages to assess the candidate nomination process, the campaign period and pre-election preparations around the country.

Some 88 Short-Term Observers (including several observers from Norway and Switzerland operating within the EOM) will be deployed by mid-December to observe voting, counting and the tabulation of results. It is planned that the EU EOM will remain in the country for up to 3 weeks after Election Day to observe the post-election period.

Frowein said EU Election Observation Missions are an important instrument for building confidence in democratic processes and are deployed in line with the EU's commitment to promote democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law. The EU has made available some € 3.2 million from the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), for this mission.

He said the European Commission is one of Bangladesh's most important development partners, assisting the country in meeting the Millennium Development Goals by providing support to human and social development, good governance, and economic development. The European Commission is assisting Bangladesh in the fields of environment and disaster preparedness and food security.