Indian EC observers to monitor Bangladesh polls

• The parliamentary election will be held on January 7
• 127 observers and 59 media workers approved 
• some other foreign observers are still in the process 
• 20,773 local observers to monitor the polls.
• Four members are from the European Union
• 12 from the US-based International Republican Institute

The Election Commission of India is set to send a two-member team of observers for the parliamentary elections in Bangladesh slated for January 7. The team leaves for Dhaka today and will submit a report to the Indian EC on its return.

The parliamentary election will be held on January 7. The commission approved another group of 20,773 local observers to monitor the polls.

In the group of foreign observers, four members are from the European Union, 12 from the US-based International Republican Institute (IRI) and National Democratic Institute (NDI), six from the South Asia Democratic Forum (SADF), two each from Africa’s SNAS, Nepal’s Muslim Commission and UK’s Africa House; one each from North Korea’s HL Group, US’s Birnie Law Office, UK’s Be Strategic Partner, Japan’s International Development Cooperation Organization and Mustache Create Research, and India’s Election Monitoring Forum.

They include a Sri Lankan Parliament member, an Australian researcher, and a US citizen from the Election Monitoring Forum amongst many others, according to the EC's public relations wing.

Among the 59 journalists, one each will come from America, British reporter of EU, Germany’s Junge Freiheit, Japan’s The Yomiuri Shimbun and Kyodo News, India’s Aajkaal and Kolkata-based Bangla daily the Anandabazar Patrika, two from The Delhi Television Ltd, three from The Associated Press, India and two others from The Press Trust of India, and two from German broadcaster ARD, amongst others.

Among them, 517 from 40 election monitoring forums will centrally observe the election while 20,256 others will observe from local 84 forums.

The commission will brief the local and foreign observers on Saturday.