EP for allowing fully representative democratic choice in BD

The European Parliament (EP) has called upon Bangladesh’s two major political parties – Awami League and BNP — to ‘engage in a dialogue’ for finding a way forward which would give its people a chance to express their democratic choice in a ‘fully representative way’. The EP also expressed concern over the current situation resulting from the January 5 elections and the reported incidents of ‘violence and vote rigging’ in the ongoing multi-phased local elections. A delegation of the EP, led by Jean Lambert, Chairperson of the Delegation for relations with South Asia, which undertook a mission to Bangladesh on March 24–25, conveyed it to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, according to a media release issued on Wednesday. Chair Lambert, however, expressed her confidence that the country would overcome its current crisis and pursue its development as a democratic, secular and tolerant State. This was the first high-level visit from the European Union (EU) since the January 5 elections. The EP delegation called for a reinforcement of the independence of the Elections Commission, to which the EU has contributed 10 million Euros over the past few years and expressed its view that there should be a full investigation into the disruption in polling, according to UNB.