An election commissioner has criticised the US envoy for remark on the elections to the Gazipur and Khulna city corporations.
“There are questions over the US elections, which a Senate panel is probing. So, Ambassador Marcia Bernicat can’t raise question on the credibility of polls in Bangladesh,” Election Commissioner Rafiqul Islam told the media in Rajshahi on .
Islam travelled to the northern divisional city to conduct a workshop for election officials.
“There were no irregularities in the Gazipur and Khulna polls,” he said while speaking to reporters after the workshop.
Rajshahi city along with Barishal and Sylhet are scheduled to go to polls for electing mayor and councilors on Jul 30.
“All-out measures have been taken to hold a fair election in Rajshahi City,” Islam said ruling out deploying the army, despite repeated calls from the BNP.
On Thursday, Ambassador Bernicat expressed her country’s concerns “by reports of irregularities, including ballot box stuffing and intimidation of political players and polling agents both before and on the day of the vote”.
While meeting diplomatic correspondents in Dhaka, she described the lower voter turnout in local government polls than the previous year as a ‘troubling sign.’
“We are also concerned by reports of police harassment and arrests of opposition polling agents and politicians in the weeks leading up to the elections,” said the US envoy.