Bangladesh has opportunity to ‘reset the narrative’ with credible elections: EU envoy

Bangladesh has a chance to "reset the narrative" with credible and professionally run elections, European Union Ambassador in Dhaka Michael Miller said today.

"This is a time when the country can reset its reputation with its international partners, and demonstrate that it can hold these elections in a very correct and professional manner," he told reporters after a four-member EU delegation met the Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon this morning.

"What I want to pass as a message is it is a moment for this country to show that it is bucking the trend on democratic backsliding," he added.

Miller said the European Union supports "timely, smooth and anticipatory elections" and sees in them "a great opportunity for Bangladesh to reset the narrative in terms of its own democratic path".

He said, "Just last weekend I had the privilege of joining the chief of the Election Commission when he conducted a mock exercise to be sure that the commission is ready for the holding of elections, which will combine not only the popular vote but also of course the referendum on the July charter."

"I was impressed by the level of advanced preparation of the EC and the advanced consideration of the logistical challenges that holding an election and a referendum on the same day will imply."

He further said, "What I want to add is that the European Union recognises the commitment and the professionalism of the Bangladesh EC and its capacity to run well-prepared elections."

Miller added that the EU is preparing to deploy "a very large election observer mission" to Bangladesh to observe "what will be the largest democratic exercise of 2026 anywhere in the world".

He said this reflects the EU's confidence in the process and its support for elections in what he called "this wonderfully diverse country".

On preparations for the 13th national polls, he said, "We see that preparations are well in hand. There will inevitably be challenges; you have a huge country with a huge population and it's the first time for many of your citizens to go to the polls for a number of reasons."

"So there is a job now of civic voter education that has to be completed," he said. Voters must understand both the election and the referendum, which he described as "a very exciting moment for this country".

"What we are discussing with all of the Bangladeshi stakeholders involved in this vote is how do you mitigate the risks and how do you ensure that the elections are smooth and participatory. That's what we want to see," he said.

Asked whether the referendum or national polls would pose the bigger challenge, Miller said, "You have a generation of citizens who did not take part in previous polls either because they rejected the polls themselves because they knew they would not be free and fair, or they feared that the act of voting would be accompanied by violence."

He said voters must understand what to do "before they turn up to vote so that they will be able to vote on time", noting that the EC plans to extend voting hours, which he called "wise".

He said the EU will continue to support "the holding of the first democratic elections that Bangladesh has seen in a very long time".

Asked how optimistic he was about free and fair elections in Bangladesh, Miller said, "I'm very optimistic."

On whether the current political situation supports such an election, he said, "I think that all stakeholders in this country should be very focused on the possibility of holding the first free and fair elections in many years."