US pre-election monitoring panel holds talks with EC

Meeting focuses on prospects of conducting 'free, fair, participatory' elections: CEC
The Election Commission has outlined its strategy to ensure a fair and free 12th national election during a meeting with the visiting United States pre-election observation mission, according to bdnews24.com.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, along with other election commissioners, met the US delegation at the watchdog's Agargaon offices on Tuesday.
The meeting primarily focused on the prospects of conducting 'free, fair and participatory' elections, according to CEC Awal.
"We discussed the Election Commission's role, the extent of government involvement, and how they coordinate throughout the entire election process. We've addressed all their inquiries," Awal said.
The team will later review the information and decide whether to dispatch an observer team to Bangladesh, he added.
Against the backdrop of political turbulence surrounding the election, a monitoring team from the European Union also visited the country in July. They have opted against sending observers due to 'budget constraints'.
The visiting US delegation includes the International Republican Institute's Bonnie Glick, Jamil Jaffer and Johanna Kao, as well as representatives from the National Democratic Institute, including Maria Chin Abdullah and Manpreet Singh Anand. They arrived in Dhaka on Saturday and will remain in Bangladesh until Oct 13 to evaluate the pre-election scenario.
The observation team is expected to release a statement at the end of their visit, identifying any concerns regarding the conduct of the elections and recommending steps to redress them.