The European Union (EU) will provide €4 million to support Bangladesh in holding elections in line with international standards, EU Ambassador and EU Delegation Head Michael Miller announced on Tuesday.
"I came here today to announce that the EU will provide a support package in excess of 4 million euros to help Bangladesh run elections in line with international standards," he said while talking to reporters after leading a six-member EU delegation in a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin at the city's Nirbachan Bhaban office.
Miller said the EU is working in partnership with Bangladesh in support of a transition that will lead up to democratic elections. "We are heading towards a timeline of early 2026," he said.
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.
"And that is why we are here mobilising our expertise now. Because we actually want your elections to be very credible and held in line with international standards and of course free and fair," he said.
Miller said he was accompanied not only by the EU delegation colleagues but also by the European Partnership for Democracy and they are implementing partners, electoral experts who will be here to ensure that there is a strong focus on citizen observation in the coming elections.
Besides, the EU has a focus on voter education in Bangladesh as the EU is determined to empower its partner in Bangladesh and of course the election commission as it conducts 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 EU 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 EU 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.
Obviously, when it comes to the elections, Bangladesh does have long-standing experience of running democratic elections, but more recently, of course, those elections have been highly questionable in terms of the conduct and the results, Miller said.
"Now, what we see here is the need to ensure that your voters, especially your young voters who may never have participated in an election, that they have sufficient education to be able to exercise their democratic right," the EU ambassador said.
"We have to be sure that you have the capacity in your administration to counter disinformation and misinformation. And of course that's not just a problem here, but it's a problem everywhere. So, on all of these issues, we will be working there. We are at the stage now of identifying how we can best help," he added.
Talking about a new EU-funded project, the EU ambassador said the EU will work on voter education, ensuring that domestic observer organisations have the capacity to deploy in the field.
Besides, the EU will work with the Bangladesh election commission and work also with smaller civil society organisations in Bangladesh that are specialised in digital rights and countering misinformation.
Other members of the delegation were Sebastian Riger-Brown, first secretary (Political) of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh; Enrico Lorenzon, first secretary and team leader for Inclusive Governance; Tanja Nader, programme manager for Inclusive Governance; Michael Lidauer, senior international advisor, EPD; and Anas Wibawa, project director for the Citizen Election Observers Component, EPD, at the EU Delegation to Bangladesh.
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