Bangladesh has capacity, set-up to hold free, fair election: CA
Monday, 20 August 2007
Terming the new technology-based voter listing of 90 million (9.0 crore) voters a big task, Chief Adviser (CA) Fakhruddin Ahmed Sunday said Bangladesh had the capacity and the set-up for holding free, fair and neutral general election in the targeted timeline, reports UNB.
The Election Commission (EC), he said, is carrying out the gigantic task of preparing the digitised voter list with photograph along with national ID card as per its announced road map for holding the parliamentary election by December 2008.
The CA said this when outgoing Ambassador of the Netherlands in Dhaka Kees Beemsterboer made a farewell call on him at his office.
The Ambassador said the Netherlands government appreciated the caretaker government's performance, particularly its institutional reforms and anti-corruption drive, aimed at holding a fair election in the country.
Mentioning the background of the present government's assumption of office in last January, the CA said this government was being tested everyday and it was accountable to the people.
The government and the EC were on track to hold the general election in the targeted time, he said, according to CA's Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim, who was present at the meeting.
Fakhruddin said the anti-corruption drive was going on aiming to build up a corruption-free society in the country.
He recalled that the Netherlands was one of the first few countries, which recognised the independence of Bangladesh and since then bilateral relations were growing between the two countries.
The Netherlands was an important destination of Bangladesh's exports and Bangladesh was grateful that the Netherlands had identified it as one of its priority countries for long term bilateral assistance, the CA said.
They also shared a priority concern of water management with Bangladesh, he added.
Fakhruddin expressed the hope that the investors from the Netherlands would come up in a bigger way for investment in Bangladesh availing of the favourable investment atmosphere and incentives granted to the foreign investors.
Ambassador Beemsterboer said the Netherlands was working closely with Bangladesh in water management and health sectors.
He again expressed the hope that the new government of his country, which would assume office next March would also work closely with Bangladesh in those areas.
Appreciating the various socio-economic achievements of Bangladesh, the ambassador, who served here for the last three years, remarked that Bangladesh was now really on the road to progress and its aid dependency had come down.
The Election Commission (EC), he said, is carrying out the gigantic task of preparing the digitised voter list with photograph along with national ID card as per its announced road map for holding the parliamentary election by December 2008.
The CA said this when outgoing Ambassador of the Netherlands in Dhaka Kees Beemsterboer made a farewell call on him at his office.
The Ambassador said the Netherlands government appreciated the caretaker government's performance, particularly its institutional reforms and anti-corruption drive, aimed at holding a fair election in the country.
Mentioning the background of the present government's assumption of office in last January, the CA said this government was being tested everyday and it was accountable to the people.
The government and the EC were on track to hold the general election in the targeted time, he said, according to CA's Press Secretary Syed Fahim Munaim, who was present at the meeting.
Fakhruddin said the anti-corruption drive was going on aiming to build up a corruption-free society in the country.
He recalled that the Netherlands was one of the first few countries, which recognised the independence of Bangladesh and since then bilateral relations were growing between the two countries.
The Netherlands was an important destination of Bangladesh's exports and Bangladesh was grateful that the Netherlands had identified it as one of its priority countries for long term bilateral assistance, the CA said.
They also shared a priority concern of water management with Bangladesh, he added.
Fakhruddin expressed the hope that the investors from the Netherlands would come up in a bigger way for investment in Bangladesh availing of the favourable investment atmosphere and incentives granted to the foreign investors.
Ambassador Beemsterboer said the Netherlands was working closely with Bangladesh in water management and health sectors.
He again expressed the hope that the new government of his country, which would assume office next March would also work closely with Bangladesh in those areas.
Appreciating the various socio-economic achievements of Bangladesh, the ambassador, who served here for the last three years, remarked that Bangladesh was now really on the road to progress and its aid dependency had come down.