Fifteen lawmakers from Australia’s opposition Greens party have written a letter to the Australian prime minister seeking specific steps including help to supervise and conduct free and fair elections in Bangladesh.

In the letter written to Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday the lawmakers also called for ensuring unfettered access during the election period to independent electoral observers.

All the signatories to the letter are lawmakers from the opposition Australian Greens party.

Mehreen Farooqui, a Pakistani-origin first Muslim woman in the Australian Senate, is among the signatories, according to the letter.

The group has been calling for free, fair and participatory elections in Bangladesh in recent months and demanded release of Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Australia Awami League and Jubo League recently wrote to the Greens party lawmakers protesting their role in Bangladesh.

‘We believe that it is crucial for the election to be conducted in a free, fair, peaceful, inclusive and participatory manner,’ the letter reads.

The Greens lawmakers also urged the Australian prime minister to publicly place on notice the Bangladesh government that should any senior officials endorse, promote or participate in serious breaches of democratic electoral standards, that they will be considered by Australia for targeted Magnitsky sanctions.