EU wants fair polls in line with international standards
Published: 19 August 2025, 6:29:15
The European Union (EU) wants free, fair and credible elections in line with international standards.
Ambassador and Head of the EU delegation to Bangladesh Michael Miller made this remark on Tuesday while talking to reporters after a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin.
He announced that the EU will provide a support package of 4 million euros to help Bangladesh conduct elections in line with international standards.
Michael Miller said the EU is working, in partnership with Bangladesh, to build support for a transition ahead of democratic elections.
“I think you all have heard that Bangladesh is moving towards a national election in early 2026. I have come today to announce to the Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) that the European Union will provide an assistance package of over 4 million euro to help Bangladesh conduct polls in line with international standards. We will continue to discuss this with the interim government and the EC in the future.”
Replying to a question about the election environment in Bangladesh, the EU Ambassador said what they are discussing now is the very practical steps that need to be taken immediately in the coming weeks and months in order to ensure the credibility of these elections.
He mentioned that the EU will also support the Bangladesh election commission directly in terms of capacity building and expert input including in the fields of operational planning and dispute resolution to give examples.
“Our focus here on the conduct of elections as in other areas of our work in Bangladesh will be on ensuring the independence and the efficiency and the accountability of the institutions here,” Miller added.
Miller said the European Union considers Bangladesh a priority for a potential EU election observation mission. “So, this is something that we will continue to discuss with the interim government and the election commission in the coming months,” he said.
Replying to another question, Michael Miller said a team of EU technical experts will come to Bangladesh next month to consider whether the context is right for the EU to deploy an election observation mission here in Bangladesh.
“So, we are looking at feasibility and we are looking at the advisability but what I can tell you is that politically Bangladesh is a priority for the European Union when it comes to the deployment of an election observation mission,” he said.
In response to another question, the EU envoy said he thinks there are a number of issues that need to be addressed because Bangladesh is in the middle of a very profound political transition.
