Members of the Election Exploratory Mission (ExM) from the European Union (EU) had a meeting with senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Inspector General of Missions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Asad Alam Siam, and other MoFA officials were present.

Neither side, however, made comments on the discussion.
The visiting delegation began their activities in Bangladesh on Sunday to assess the situation on the ground ahead of the country’s upcoming national election.

Delegation leader Chelleri Riccardo and his team held a number of meetings so far including with diplomats stationed in Dhaka on Sunday.

The visiting delegation also had a meeting with UN Resident Coordinator Gwyn Lewis, said a diplomatic source.

The meetings took place in a number of places, including the residence of the EU Ambassador to Bangladesh, Charles Whiteley.

Diplomats have made no comments regarding the meetings as of yet.

Riccardo has vast professional experience in the electoral field – covering observation, supervision and technical assistance to electoral processes.
The EU delegation will be in Bangladesh till July 23 to assess the situation.

The task of this mission will be to assess the scope, planning, budget, logistics and security of the main election observation mission, Mohammad Rafiqul Alam, Director General (Additional Charge) of Public Diplomacy Wing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters at the weekly briefing last Thursday.

The EU delegation in Dhaka said it is willing to meet with government representatives, election-related authorities, representatives of the international community, officials of various law enforcement agencies, political leaders, civil society and media representatives during their stay in Bangladesh.

Based on the information received from the fact-finding mission, the European Union will take a final decision on sending a full-fledged Election Observation Mission (EOM) before the next national election.

The main objective of the Election Exploratory Mission is to assess the “advisability, usefulness and feasibility” of a possible EU Election Observation Mission for the upcoming parliamentary election, according to the EU Mission in Dhaka.