FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Jacqueline Corcoran, NDI Resident Country Director
[email protected], +880 (2) 988 3998; or
Kathy Gest, NDI Director of Public Affairs
[email protected], 202-728-5535

DHAKA – The National Democratic Institute (NDI) today announced the arrival of its international observer delegation for the Dec. 29 parliamentary elections in Bangladesh. The 33-member group includes political and civic leaders, regional and election experts, media specialists, and human rights activists from 10 countries in Asia, Europe, and North America.

The delegation is co-led by Howard B. Schaffer, former U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, and Audrey McLaughlin, former member of parliament and former leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. The delegation leadership will also include Larry Garber, former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director for West Bank/Gaza, and Peter Manikas, senior associate and director for Asia programs at NDI.

The purpose of the delegation is to demonstrate the international community’s interest in Bangladesh’s return to a democratically-elected government. NDI fielded a pre-election delegation to Dhaka from Nov. 16 through 19 and has had long-term observes in Bangladesh since Nov. 20 to assess the political environment and preparations for the parliamentary polls. A copy of that delegation’s statement may be found here.

After briefings in Dhaka, teams of observers will deploy to locations around the country where they will meet with local electoral authorities, party and media representatives, and domestic election monitors. On election day, the NDI observers will observe polling stations and counting centers. A statement will be released at a press conference scheduled for Dec. 31.

The NDI observer mission will conduct its activities in a nonpartisan manner and in accordance with Bangladeshi law and the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation. The observation delegation is funded by USAID.

Over the past 10 years, NDI has conducted a broad range of programs to assist Bangladeshis in their efforts to strengthen democracy and increase citizen participation in the country’s political process.

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NDI is a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world for more than two decades. For more information about NDI, please visit our website, www.ndi.org.

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Released on Dec. 24, 2008