Polls Guideline: EC to review it for foreign observers, journalists

The Election Commission will soon review the 2018 guidelines on foreign election observers and journalists.

The commission will hold a meeting with officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, home, information, and the National Board of Revenue on August 23 and decide whether the guidelines need amendment, said Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath of the EC secretariat.

EC officials said Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal met Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on August 10 and discussed making the guideline up-to-date.

Officials are reviewing the guidelines at a time when foreign diplomats are showing interest in the coming national election likely to be held in January next year.

US Ambassador Peter Haas early this month said his country would send a monitoring team to Bangladesh in early October to assess the pre-polls situation here.

The Election Exploratory Mission of the European Union visited Bangladesh from July 9 to 23. The mission will prepare a report, based on which the EU will decide whether to send an observer team during the polls.

Members of the mission met the CEC on July 11 and enquired about the commission's preparations for the election, the voter list, voting centres, and installation of CCTV cameras.

The CEC informed the EU mission that it would be better if the EU sent the application for sending the observers by September.

The EU did not send any observers during the 2014 and 2018 national polls.

An EC source said the international communities, especially the EU, want to bring vehicle trackers, cameras, and other equipment when they visit as election observers.

"They wanted to know the official procedure through which the equipment can be brought in. There is also a tax issue in bringing equipment. The EC's current policy does not mention anything about bringing in equipment and tax issues," the official said.

As per the current guidelines, international observers and journalists need to take permission from the commission in prescribed forms. They need clearance from home and foreign ministries.

"Foreign observers should respect sovereignty and international human rights, the laws of the country and the authority of electoral bodies and the integrity of the international election observation mission," says the guideline.