Mushfiqul Fazal: The United States has reiterated that the general elections held on January 7th in Bangladesh were not free or fair. Additionally, the country expressed its concern over the arrests of political opposition members.

Kelly Razzouk, the US National Security Council (NSC) Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy and Human Rights, stated during a briefing on Wednesday that, “About the elections, we have shared the view with other observers that the elections were not free or fair, and we regret that not all parties were able to participate. We remain concerned about the arrests of political opposition members.”

The White House correspondent raised questions regarding the Biden administration’s promise to take all necessary steps to ensure a free, fair, and credible election in Bangladesh, citing actions taken after elections deemed flawed in Nicaragua, Nigeria, Guatemala, and Bulgaria.

The briefing, held at the Foreign Press Center in Washington to preview US participation in the third Summit for Democracy in South Korea, was attended by Maher Bitar, NSC Deputy Assistant to the US President and Coordinator for Intelligence and Defense Policy.

Responding to inquiries about Bangladesh’s exclusion from the Democracy Summit, Razzouk stated, “Well, I can’t speak to the status of invitation for the summit. That would need to be directed at South Korea, who is the host of the summit this year.”

Reiterating the US’ stance on the January 7th elections, Razzouk emphasized, “But with regards to your question about the elections, we have shared the view with other observers that the elections were not free or fair, and we regretted that not all parties were able to participate. We remain concerned about the arrests of political opposition members.”

Looking ahead, Razzouk added, “And looking ahead, the United States remains committed to partnering with Bangladesh to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. We want to deepen our people-to-people economic ties, and we’ll continue to discuss those issues with the Bangladeshi Government going forward.”

When asked if the US believes India is on the right track to promote democracy, considering its claim as the largest democracy in the world, despite facing challenges regarding democracy, freedom of expression, and minority rights, the NSC special assistant to the US president responded, “We said very clearly that every democracy is different, that there is no blueprint for democracy.”

Razzouk further elaborated, stating, “We obviously had addressed democratic reform and efforts in the context of our bilateral relationship with these various countries, but we’re for the summit purposes, we’re very focused on democracy globally and how we can share best practices and promote democracy, given the fact that, as I mentioned previously, 2024 is truly the year of elections. And so we’re very focused on ensuring that there can be youth engagement, that we can see all of these stakeholders coming together and share best practices at the summit in terms of next steps with regards to democracy promotion around the world.”

The third Summit for Democracy takes place March 18-20 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. In this on-the-record event, the briefers preview US participation in the Summit. Since first convened by President Biden in 2021, the Summit for Democracy process has brought together hundreds of leaders from governments, civil society, and the private sector committed to strengthening democratic governance, protecting human rights, and advancing the fight against corruption.

A key US priority at the third Summit is to demonstrate how we have methodically implemented a series of policy and regulatory measures that have placed the United States at the forefront of efforts to counter misuse of commercial spyware.

MR/