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Election Commission Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said that although the US will not officially send observers for the upcoming 13th National Parliament elections and referendum, it will keep abreast of the elections informally on its own initiative.

The discussion took place in a meeting between Chief Election Commissioner MM Nasir Uddin and a four-member delegation including US Ambassador Brent Christensen on Wednesday (January 28) morning.

Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters at a press briefing after the meeting.

The EC Secretary said that they have told us that no observation team will come for the elections. However, an independent team will come from the US and they will go to Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong and Khulna from the US Embassy on their own initiative and in their own way to observe the elections.

He also said that this is not an official visit. They will just go to see what the voting situation is like. They expressed their desire to us in this regard and the Election Commission welcomed their initiative.

The Secretary said that in the meeting, they wanted to know about the overall management of the election. Among the overall management, they were more curious about the postal ballot.

Akhtar Ahmed said, we informed them about our overall preparations for the postal ballot, and also showed them the sample ballot. They said that it is a complex, quite difficult matter. However, they appreciated our initiative and wished the Election Commission overall success.

The EC Secretary said, they wanted to know about our overall preparations regarding the issues of the code of conduct. We informed them that we have an electoral inquiry committee, a complaint management cell. These things are being coordinated by contacting those working here.

He also said, they also wanted to know what our law and order management is going to be. We said that about nine and a half lakh law and order personnel will work at different levels. He (the US Ambassador) expressed satisfaction on hearing this.

The EC Secretary said, the US Ambassador told us that he is satisfied with the overall preparations of the Election Commission. They are very optimistic about organizing a successful election.

The meeting was also attended by Election Commissioners – Abdur Rahmanel Machud, Begum Tahmida Ahmed, Md. Anwarul Islam Sarkar, Brigadier General (Retd.) Abul Fazal Md. Sanaullah, US Embassy Political Officer David Moo and Political Expert Firoz Ahmed.

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