Staff Correspondent:

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal has reaffirmed that the 12th parliamentary election would proceed as scheduled, citing constitutional constraints. He made the statement following a meeting between the Election Commission (EC) and a European Union (EU) delegation at the conference room of Nirbachan Bhaban on Wednesday (Nov 29).

The delegation, comprising 10 EU members, included Deputy Head of Mission Brent Spiner, Political Officer Sebastian Rieger Braun, Ambassador Berg von Linde, Danish Ambassador Denmark Christian Brix Müller, Spanish Ambassador Francisco de Asis Benitez Salas, was led by EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley in Dhaka.

The EU representatives at the event included Ambassador Antonio Alessandro from Italy, Ambassador Irma van Dueren from the Netherlands, Deputy Head of Mission Guillaume Audrem de Kardrel from France, and a representative from the German Embassy.

Kazi Habibul Awal stated, "The EU desires peaceful elections, and the commission has consistently advocated for free, impartial, and participatory elections. We are actively working towards achieving that objective."

He briefed the EU delegation on the progress made in election preparations, expressing satisfaction with the advancements.

Highlighting constitutional limitations, Commissioner Awal emphasised that the commission is bound by these constraints. He clarified that the commission has no authority in the event of political divisions and added that the EU delegation acknowledged and understood this reality.

The meeting between the EU delegation and the EC was originally requested by EU Ambassador Charles Whiteley, who emailed Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on November 22.

The meeting was scheduled for Nov 29 due to the commissioners' election-related engagements that prevented an earlier date.