Emergency a negative factor to credible polls: Lambsdroff
Saturday, 29 November 2008
Chief observer of European Union (EU) election observation mission Alexander Graf Lambsdroff Friday termed state of emergency a negative factor for a credible election and said the role of Army in election process was non-existent, reports UNB.
"It is not ideal to begin an election process under the state of emergency… We hope the emergency will be lifted at some point of the election process to ensure a clean environment for election," he told a crowded media conference at a city hotel.
Lambsdroff said had there not been relaxation of emergency rules removing restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression recently, they would not be here for full observation of the elections scheduled for December 29.
He repeatedly expressed the hope that the emergency would be lifted before the elections and referred to Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury's public remarks after a meeting with him.
Lambsdroff, who also headed the previous EU election observation mission before January 11, 2007, said the situation now was better with flawless voters' list and an independent Election Commission (EC), which he described as positive factor. He, however, called the existence of the state of emergency a negative factor.
Asked about the outcome of his meetings with political parties, Lambsdroff, a Member of European Parliament (MEP), said he found consensus among the stakeholders that elections should take place.
He said that in all, 150 EU election observers would be deployed on the election-day. Already a core team of nine experts and 46 long-term observers were working across the country. They would be joined by 88 short-term observers shortly before the election-day.
The election observation mission would announce a preliminary report two days after the election and a detailed report after two months of the election with recommendation for changes, if needed, for future elections.
He said the EU election observation mission was independent and would observe the laws of the land and its enforcement as well as the best practices of the international standard, as Bangladesh prescribes the international convention on civil and political rights.
Asked about reservations from some parties against certain domestic observation teams, Lambsdroff said he was aware of that, but suggested that domestic observation was important and they should be allowed to observe the polls to a great extent to help ensure transparency of voting.
Asked about the role of army in the election, the EU parliament member said as such, the role of army in the election process was non-existent other than providing security. He, however, said the authorities would take the decision whether they would exclusively use police for security and safety of participants in the elections process or deploy army for that purpose.
Any law enforcing agency must be respected to ensure free and fair election where electorates could cast their votes in a free environment without any intimidation, he added.
Asked whether they would pull out from observation if the emergency was not lifted, he said the EU observation mission would focus whether a genuine atmosphere was there where campaign goes freely, and safety and security of all stakeholders engaged in the elections were guaranteed. "We hope the state of emergency can be lifted."
About boycott of election by any major party, Lambsdroff said boycott of elections would be an unfortunate development, as Bangladesh should return to full-fledged democracy and all should participate.
Deputy Chief Observer Graham Elsom moderated the press conference attended by Ambassadors from France, Germany and Italy and representatives of some watchdog bodies.
"It is not ideal to begin an election process under the state of emergency… We hope the emergency will be lifted at some point of the election process to ensure a clean environment for election," he told a crowded media conference at a city hotel.
Lambsdroff said had there not been relaxation of emergency rules removing restrictions on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression recently, they would not be here for full observation of the elections scheduled for December 29.
He repeatedly expressed the hope that the emergency would be lifted before the elections and referred to Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury's public remarks after a meeting with him.
Lambsdroff, who also headed the previous EU election observation mission before January 11, 2007, said the situation now was better with flawless voters' list and an independent Election Commission (EC), which he described as positive factor. He, however, called the existence of the state of emergency a negative factor.
Asked about the outcome of his meetings with political parties, Lambsdroff, a Member of European Parliament (MEP), said he found consensus among the stakeholders that elections should take place.
He said that in all, 150 EU election observers would be deployed on the election-day. Already a core team of nine experts and 46 long-term observers were working across the country. They would be joined by 88 short-term observers shortly before the election-day.
The election observation mission would announce a preliminary report two days after the election and a detailed report after two months of the election with recommendation for changes, if needed, for future elections.
He said the EU election observation mission was independent and would observe the laws of the land and its enforcement as well as the best practices of the international standard, as Bangladesh prescribes the international convention on civil and political rights.
Asked about reservations from some parties against certain domestic observation teams, Lambsdroff said he was aware of that, but suggested that domestic observation was important and they should be allowed to observe the polls to a great extent to help ensure transparency of voting.
Asked about the role of army in the election, the EU parliament member said as such, the role of army in the election process was non-existent other than providing security. He, however, said the authorities would take the decision whether they would exclusively use police for security and safety of participants in the elections process or deploy army for that purpose.
Any law enforcing agency must be respected to ensure free and fair election where electorates could cast their votes in a free environment without any intimidation, he added.
Asked whether they would pull out from observation if the emergency was not lifted, he said the EU observation mission would focus whether a genuine atmosphere was there where campaign goes freely, and safety and security of all stakeholders engaged in the elections were guaranteed. "We hope the state of emergency can be lifted."
About boycott of election by any major party, Lambsdroff said boycott of elections would be an unfortunate development, as Bangladesh should return to full-fledged democracy and all should participate.
Deputy Chief Observer Graham Elsom moderated the press conference attended by Ambassadors from France, Germany and Italy and representatives of some watchdog bodies.