EU election observers meet Jamaat chief ahead of national polls

A delegation from the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman at the party’s central office in Dhaka today.

The 15-member high-level EU delegation, led by Chief Observer and Member of the European Parliament Ivars Ijabs, met the Jamaat chief around 11:00am, according to a press release issued by the party.

The meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and focused on issues of mutual interest between Bangladesh and the European Union, the release said.

Discussions centred on cooperation to help ensure that the forthcoming 13th parliamentary election is free, fair and acceptable. Both sides also expressed consensus on strengthening Bangladesh’s constitutional and democratic institutions.

The EU delegation assured that a 200-member observation team would monitor the upcoming parliamentary election, the release added.

Both parties expressed hope that bilateral relations between Bangladesh and the European Union would continue to strengthen in the areas of development and progress.

Among those present at the meeting were Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Maulana Abdul Halim; Assistant Secretary General and central publicity and media chief Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair; Jamaat’s Europe spokesperson Abu Bakar Molla; educationist Zubayer Ahmed; and Mahmudul Hasan, foreign affairs adviser to the Jamaat ameer.