Welcoming the lifting of the State of Emergency in Bangladesh, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh

Welcoming the lifting of the State of Emergency in Bangladesh, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh

Mr. Kamlesh Sharma has announced that the Commonwealth Observer Group for the Bangladesh Parliamentary Elections of 29 December 2008 will be led by the former President of Mauritius, H E Cassam Uteem.

“These elections are extremely important for Bangladesh, offering an opportunity for the resumption of normal democratic life in the country and the re-constitution of the nation’s parliament”, said Mr Sharma. “The lifting of the State of Emergency means that the election campaign and the election day can now be conducted under more regular conditions for genuine elections.”

“The Commonwealth Observer Group will determine in its own judgement whether the election is conducted according to the standards to which Bangladesh has committed itself, in adhering to national election-related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth and other international commitments,” Mr Sharma continued.

The Group comprises ten people, and will be in Bangladesh from 22 December 2008 to 4 January 2009. They will be supported by a staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat led by the Head of Democracy, Mark Stevens.

The Group was constituted at the invitation of the caretaker government, and follows an Assessment Mission made to Bangladesh in November 2008.

This Assessment Mission established that there is a broad welcome for the presence of a Commonwealth Observer Group for the elections and that, providing the State of Emergency was lifted, the minimum conditions for democratic elections were largely provided for.

The Group will act impartially and independently, and conduct itself according to the standards expressed in the International Declaration of Principles to which the Commonwealth is a signatory. It has no executive role: its function is not to supervise but to observe the process as a whole, and to form a judgement accordingly.

The Group will issue an Interim Statement after the elections. In its Final Report, the Group is free to propose to the authorities concerned recommendations for change on institutional, procedural and other matters which could assist in the holding of future elections.

The Commonwealth Observer Group comprises:

H E Cassam Uteem (Chair) Former President of Mauritius Mauritius	Hon Francis Kaparo Former Speaker of Parliament Kenya
Mr Ahmed Mehboob Executive Director, Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency Pakistan	Ms Ilham Mohamed Head of Transparency Maldives Maldives
Ms Sasha Mohammed Journalist Trinidad and Tobago	Mr Halifa Sallah National Chairman, National Alliance for Democracy and Development The Gambia
Dame Jennifer Smith MP UK-Bermuda	Dr Sharman Stone MP Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Immigration Australia
Mr B B Tandon Former Chief Electoral Commissioner India	Ms Judith Thompson Election Expert Canada

(Source:Comm.Sec.)