Expressing concerns over the recently held elections, a bipartisan group of US lawmakers has called upon the Trump administration to address threats to Democracy in Bangladesh.

In a letter signed by six of its members, including chairman Eliot Engel, the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee has questioned the credibility of the elections and highlighted reports of election fraud and voter suppression.

The strongly-worded letter, addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says, “Supporting democracy, rule of law, and human rights in the Indo-Pacific region is critical to advancing US interests, and reports of widespread irregularities in Bangladesh’s recent elections seriously threaten those important interests.”

The committee members have pointed out that there will be a series of elections taking place this year in Asia including Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

“It is crucial that the United States demonstrate its continued commitment to and respect for democratic institutions, beginning with Bangladesh,” they said.

Pointing to Bangladesh’s strong and proud democratic tradition, the members expressed dismay that the “campaign leading up to the election was marred by violence, mass arrests, and a crackdown on free speech”.

Urging the administration to act, the House panel has sought a timely response to “protect democracy” in Bangladesh.

The US State Department too had expressed its concerns over the way the elections were conducted.

But many south Asia experts believe that Washington sees Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as an important partner who is tough on terror and under whose leadership the country has achieved a remarkable degree of economic growth.

“The US sees her as a supporter and practitioner of stability in Bangladesh in spite of the tradeoff of having a very troubled domestic political situation in Bangladesh" said Michael Kugelman, senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in a recent interview to the AFP.

Prime Minister Hasina was also lauded, both by the administration and the Congress, for taking in close to a million Rohingya refugees who fled from neighbouring Myanmar.