Fair election impossible under partisan government: AB Party tells US delegation

The Amar Bangladesh (AB) Party has told the pre-election assessment mission (PEAM) that no free, fair, participatory and credible election can take place under any partisan government, said a press release.

The International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute are conducting this state-funded independent and neutral pre-election assessment mission (PEAM).

The delegation included Karl F Inderfurth, former assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs under Clinton administration; Bonnie Glick, former deputy USAID administrator; Maria Chin Abdullah, former member of the Malaysia House of Representatives; Jamil Jaffer, former associate counsel to former US president George W Bush at the White House; Manpreet Singh Anand, NDI regional director for Asia-Pacific; and Johanna Kao, IRI senior director, Asia-Pacific Division.

Only the four elections, held under caretaker governments, were relatively free, fair and credible.

Jami Sacks Spykerman, NDI Asia Pacific director and Kregg Halstead JD, resident programme director at IRI Bangladesh, were also present at the meeting.