UN wants credible, inclusive polls in Bangladesh
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called on all stakeholders to ensure an environment free of violence, intimidation and coercion before, during and after the general election in Bangladesh, so as to enable peaceful, credible and inclusive polls.
“All Bangladeshi citizens, including minorities and women, must feel safe and confident in exercising their right to vote,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, adding, “Civil society and electoral observers should be fully supported to play their role in the process.”
The secretary-general reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations to support a peaceful and democratic Bangladesh, he added.
In a tweet message posted on Thursday, Stephane Dujarric said, “Ahead of the upcoming elections in Bangladesh, the UN general secretary calls for an environment free of violence, intimidation and coercion.”
In the message, he also said all Bangladeshis, including minorities and women, must feel safe and confident in exercising their right to vote.
Earlier, in a question-answer session on 21 December, Stephane was asked, “Crackdown on opposition candidates and supporters by the ruling authority. Do you still believe the upcoming election of Bangladesh will be free, fair and credible, as now they are disqualifying opposition candidates to… by using the codes?”
To which he replied, “As I’ve told you, we are all following these developments very closely and we’re concerned by the reports of incidents of electoral violence and arrests of opposition members and we call on all stakeholders to do their part to make sure that the election is inclusive and transparent. In this respect, it’s, of course, very important that the security forces act to ensure free and unhindered campaigning by all candidates. Bangladeshi citizens should feel confident in their ability to safely exercise their right to vote. Civil society and electoral observers also need to be fully supported to play their role in this process.”
