Dhaka: Bangladesh has invited India to join as an international observer for its 13th Parliamentary elections and a referendum on the July National Charter, both scheduled for February 12, even as New Delhi is yet to confirm whether it will send an official mission.
According to Bangladesh’s interim government, 330 international observers have already confirmed their attendance. The list includes representatives from six international organizations, 16 countries, and 32 individual observers from global bodies.
Confirmed missions include delegations from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the European Union, and other international organizations. Observer groups will also include both governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Invitations have also been sent to Nepal, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, Romania, and others. The February 12 election will feature nearly 2,000 candidates from over 50 political parties, along with independents, competing for the 300 parliamentary seats. The vote will be held alongside a referendum on proposed limits to executive power under the July National Charter.
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More trouble for Sheikh HasinaA Bangladesh court sentenced deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in jail this week in two separate corruption cases related to alleged irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project. Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court handed 79-year-old Hasina 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for using her official influence in allocating residential plots to others, including her niece, UK Labour MP and former British minister Tulip Siddiq, under the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachol on the outskirts of the capital. Hasina's now disbanded Awami League party has labelled the sentences as "entirely predictable" and "false cases" staged by Muhammad Yunus' interim government, while it earlier called the charges “fabricated" and "malicious". |
