6 EU MPs call for free and fair polls in Bangladesh

Six members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have sent a letter to the European Union (EU) seeking its role to ensure free, fair and impartial general elections in Bangladesh.

The MEPs are Ivan Stefanec (Slovak Republic), Michaela Sojdrova (Czech Republic), Andrey Kovatchev (Bulgaria), Karen Melchior (Denmark), Javier Nart (Spain) and Heidi Hautala (Finland).

The letter was sent to the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Joseph Borrell on Monday.

They expressed concerns over violation of human rights in Bangladesh and called to restore democracy and the rule of law in Bangladesh in view of its upcoming general elections.

They asked Joseph Borrell to contribute in ensuring free, fair, and impartial general elections possibly under a poll-time neutral caretaker government in Bangladesh, end to the violation of human rights, release of Begum Khaleda Zia, and engagement of the government with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and other major political parties to find out a sustainable and democratic solution to the ongoing crises.

Earlier, six US Congressmen wrote to US President Joe Biden, calling for urgent actions to stop the “human rights abuses” by the Bangladesh government and “give the people of Bangladesh the best possible chance for free and fair parliamentary elections”.