Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
The European Union (EU) is set to send 150 observers for Bangladesh’s 13th national elections due in February 2026. A tripartite MoU between the EU, Election Commission (EC), and the foreign ministry is being finalised.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said after talks with an EU pre-election team in Dhaka: “The EU team has given us a draft. We will review it and then proceed with signing the MoU.”
He clarified that observers will arrive in phases after the poll schedule is announced. The EU team also sought clarity on whether they would be allowed inside polling centres, observe booths and remain during counting.
Ahmed said such MoUs are part of the EU’s standard operating procedure but admitted he had no knowledge of any past agreements with foreign observers.
The visiting team included delegation head Riccardo Chellery along with Reginald Soenen, Frederik Schumann, Mette Bakken, Joachim Manuel Wally, Terry Murray Pinto and Ian James Miller.