The United States will send 12 teams of observers and fund thousands of domestic observers to monitor an election in Bangladesh it hopes will be free and fair, a senior official at the US Embassy in Dhaka said.

Amid opposition concerns about rigging in the December 30 general election, there has been speculation about US plans for it, especially after the European Union this week said it would not send observers, nor comment on the vote or result.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is seeking a third straight term.

Her old rival, Khaleda Zia, who leads the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, is in jail after being convicted on charges she says were politically motivated. Scores of BNP workers have also been detained.

The BNP boycotted the last election, in 2014, as unfair, but has said it will take part this time, though it is seeking international monitors of polls it says it believes will be flawed.

The United States is sending a dozen teams, each of about two observers, who will fan out to most parts of the country, William Moeller, political officer at the US embassy in Dhaka, told Reuters.

“The Bangladesh government has emphasised that it plans to hold a free and fair election,” Moeller said this week.

“We welcome that and are providing funding for election observers who hope to see such an outcome.”

Moeller referred to reports of harassment and intimidation before recent city corporation elections, which he said may have suppressed voter turnout.

“We raised these concerns at the time, so we are hoping we won’t see the same issues in the national elections.”

The US National Democratic Institute said after an assessment in October the polls would be held “amid a high degree of political polarisation, heightened tensions and shrinking political space”.

The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections will send a team of about 30 short- and long-term observers, Moeller said.

About 15,000 Bangladeshi observers will be funded jointly by the US Agency for International Development, Britain’s Department for International Development and the Swiss government, he said.

The domestic observers would spread out but might not be able to reach every polling station, he said.

PLAYING DOWN WORRIES

Hasina and Khaleda have alternated in power over the last 28 years. Elections in Bangladesh are often violent and marred by ballot-stuffing and voter intimidation.

Hasina’s Awami League has held power since 2009 and dispensed from 2014 with a practice of letting a neutral caretaker government oversee elections, to the anger of the BNP.

The government has brushed off opposition fears of rigging.

“I don’t see any possibility this time, because all the parties are participating, and all of them will have their election agents,” said HT Imam, a political adviser to Hasina.

Bangladesh has seen steady economic growth under Hasina and the development of a vibrant garment sector under-pinning export growth, and accounting for 80 percent of the economy.

But rights groups have criticised increasing curbs on freedom of speech and the media.

Hope to capitalise on dissatisfaction, the BNP has formed an alliance with smaller parties called the National Unity Front and Hasina said this week she expected competitive polls.

The EU delegation in Dhaka said it was not sending observers because of growing demand for them amid tight resources.

India had no plan to send observers unless Bangladesh asked, an official at the Indian High Commission said.

With Bangladesh Parliament Elections closing in, the local cyberspace has been heated up with 'Nirbachan' fever. And to go with the 'nirbachani' feel, we have compiled a list of three interesting election related services and apps that you might find interesting. Here they are:  

Amar.vote

Type: Website

Developer: Preneur Lab - Social Good Company

Amar.vote is an interesting piece of website where by logging in, you can create your own manifesto. According to Preneur Lab, the creator of the website, the sole ambition of this website is to encourage the new and young voters to vote and to allow them to express their expectations while also helping candidates to understand demands of the young voters.

JS Poll interactive maps

Type: Website

Developer: The Daily Star

The website is an interactive website by The Daily Star which allows you to get up to speed with everything associated with the upcoming JS election in a single portal. From news to interactive maps to candidate's manifesto to constituency details, you can find everything in this single microsite. To visit the site go now: www.thedailystar.net/bangladesh-national-election-2018.

Sangshad Nirbachan

Type: App

Developer: Lotus Technologies BD

Songshad Nirbachan is a paid android app which can be considered as the holy grail of elections of Bangladesh. Don't be fooled by the unimpressive visuals as it contains the details for every Bangladesh election. The app sources information from a lot of journals and websites.

Jatiya Oikyafront convener Dr Kamal Hossain today urged the diplomatic corps in Dhaka to manage the Awami League government to hold a fresh national election under a nonparty administration immediately.

Kamal Hossain also president of Gonoforum made the call while holding a closed-door meeting with diplomats from different countries at a hotel in Dhaka’s Gulshan area this afternoon.

The Oikyafront leader also placed allegations of irregularity and violence, took place in the December 30 national election, before the foreign diplomats during the meeting.

“We held a good discussion. We presented before them (diplomats) what happened in the election. They also witnessed the irregularities by themselves and they did not make any argument over it,” Kamal told reporters after the meeting.

Kamal said, “They asked us what we want and we told them that we can reach a peaceful solution if a fresh election is held and all people can vote freely.”

“We will work together and play a constructive role to build a bright future of the country if a fresh election is held,” Kamal said.

Diplomats from at least 30 countries including USA, UK, Canada, Russia and China were present at the meeting.

During the meeting, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also spoke about the “ruling party and police men’s indulgence in the acts of terrorism” ahead of the election.

The “evidence of the election violence” were projected before the diplomats through a power-point presentation during the meeting, meeting sources said.

Later, written copies of the allegations with “facts and evidence” were handed over the foreign diplomats, the said.