The United States Government strongly supports the recommendations made by an independent pre-election assessment mission (PEAM) of the country to ensure credibility. including And violence-free elections in Bangladesh.
Afrin Akhtar, US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), informed Bangladesh about this stance of the US government on Monday. After arriving on a two-day visit, Afrin held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Masood bin Momen at the State Guest House in Padma on Monday.
PEAM made five recommendations, including the need to conduct meaningful dialogue between political parties. The mission, a joint team of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), visited Bangladesh from 8–12 October.
On the meeting with Afrin, Foreign Secretary Massoud told reporters on Monday afternoon, “They (the US) said the government has support and alignment with the recommendations made by the NDI and the IRI.”
He said that the US has been repeatedly emphasizing on free, fair and peaceful elections during various meetings and the Bangladesh government has been assuring them about the same from the highest political level.
