NDI report on elections doesn't matter to Bangladesh: Hasan

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has said that the reports given by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) about the 12th national election does not matter to Bangladesh.

Claiming that free, fair and impartial elections were held in the country, he said: "It doesn't matter what NDI says. The report of IRI and NDI should have included the issue of violence by BNP during the elections."

He said this at a discussion meeting organized at the Foreign Service Academy in the capital on the occasion of the 104th birth anniversary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Children's Day on Sunday (March 17).

The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier in the day, the Technical Assessment Mission deployed to Bangladesh to monitor potential violence before, during, and after the country’s January 7, 2024 parliamentary election has released its final report.

The 2024 national election in Bangladesh, including the campaign period, election day and the immediate aftermath, had less physical and online violence compared to previous election cycles, says the report of the joint National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI).

During its stay in Bangladesh, the mission’s five accredited long-term analysts met with election and government officials, security actors, political party leaders from across the political spectrum, journalists, civil society organisations including those focusing on youth, women, persons with disabilities, and religious minorities, as well as with accredited international observer missions.

This mission follows a joint pre-election assessment mission that NDI and IRI conducted from October 8 to 11, 2023.

The observations from the pre-election assessment mission informed the structure and scope of the technical assessment, which was conducted in accordance with the laws of Bangladesh and consistent with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, endorsed in 2005 at the UN.

IRI and NDI are nonpartisan, nongovernmental organisations that support and strengthen democratic institutions and practices worldwide. The Institutes have collectively observed more than 200 elections in more than 50 countries over the last 30 years.