UN Will Not Send Polls Observing Mission

The United Nations has said it will not send any observers to monitor the 12th national parliamentary elections of Bangladesh. 

This information was given at a regular press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday (November 29). 

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General António Guterres, said that the UN does not observe elections without a specific mandate. And they have seen the reports of Human Rights Watch and other organizations.

Asked what specific steps are going to be taken by the secretary-general to ensure the voting rights of the Bangladeshi people, he said: “The UN is not deploying observers to these elections.”

“We don't… we rarely, rarely do that without a specific mandate.  We, again, and we've seen the reports from Human Rights Watch and other organizations, we again call on all parties involved to ensure that people are able to express their votes freely, their opinion freely, free of any harassment,” added the spokesman.