US technical assessment team reaches Bangladesh

A joint team of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) of the United States has reached Bangladesh to conduct a limited technical assessment focused on potential electoral violence conditions before, during, and after the parliamentary elections.

In a press release published on Sunday, the IRI said the five-member technical assessment team reached here last week. They received accreditation from the Election Commission (EC) and will stay in Bangladesh for six to eight weeks.

The technical assessment includes a thematic analysis of different types of election violence, including inter and intra-party violence, violence targeting women and other marginalised groups, and online harassment and threats, as well as the role of state institutions in addressing these types of violence, in order to evaluate the drivers and implications of election violence during the election cycle.

Following the conclusion of the electoral process, the IRI and NDI will present a technical assessment report on electoral violence along with constructive recommendations to reduce violence in future elections.