Violence leading up to poll in BD ‘incredibly serious’ : US

US State Department seal. Wikimedia Commons.

Dhaka, Nov 07 - The United States has said it is closely monitoring the electoral environment in Bangladesh, leading up to January’s general election, and that it takes any incident of violence “incredibly seriously”.

“We are engaging and will continue to engage with the government, with opposition parties, with civil society, and other stakeholders to urge them to work together for the benefit of the Bangladeshi people,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State, Vedant Patel, said.

He made the remarks at a regular briefing on November 6 when a reporter wanted to know whether the US will ask BNP for putting an end to the violence and participation in election.

Patel reiterated that the US does not support any particular political party in Bangladesh.

“We don’t favor any one political party over the other. Right now our focus continues to be closely monitoring the electoral environment in Bangladesh leading up to January’s election, engaging appropriately with the government, with opposition leaders, with civil society and other stakeholders to urge them to work together for the benefit of the Bangladeshi people,” Patel said.

Responding to a question, the principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State said, they have an “incredibly talented” team at the embassy in Dhaka, led by an experienced ambassador who is well-versed not just working in Bangladesh, but also the broader region.-UNB