The joint National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) Technical Assessment Mission (TAM) from the United States has found that a pre-election environment characterised by increased political polarisation, violence among political actors, contracting civic space, and worsening freedoms of expression and association undermined the quality of the January 7 election in Bangladesh.
The NDI and IRI TAM deployed to monitor potential electoral violence conditions before, during, and after the country's January 7, 2024 parliamentary elections released its final report on Sunday (March 17).
"The quality of the January election was undermined by incidents of state, ruling party, and opposition violence, as well as a pre-election environment characterized by increased political polarization, violence among political actors, contracting civic space, and worsening freedoms of expression and association," said the report.
The mission found that the 2024 election period, including the campaign period, election day and immediate aftermath, had less physical and online violence compared to previous election cycles, primarily due to the absence of nationwide partisan competition and the state's increased focus on election security.
"This report provides a valuable roadmap for more peaceful elections in Bangladesh's future," said Manpreet Singh Anand, NDI's Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific.
"Leaders across the sociopolitical spectrum — including political parties, the government, and civil society – have a responsibility to reform the rules, practices, and norms of electoral politics toward nonviolence," he added.
"Election violence is a key deterrent of citizen participation," said Johanna Kao, IRI's Senior Director for the Asia-Pacific Division.
"For Bangladesh's elections to be fully inclusive and participatory, all sides need to prioritize nonviolent politics," Johanna added.
The document provides a thematic analysis of different types of election violence and includes recommendations to the Bangladesh Election Commission, the executive and legislative branches of government, political parties, civil society, and other stakeholders based on IRI's and NDI's comparative experience, to mitigate the risks of violence in future elections, in the furtherance of international cooperation and with respect for the sovereignty of Bangladesh.
During its stay in Bangladesh, the TAM's five accredited long-term analysts met with election and government officials, security actors, political party leaders from across the political spectrum, journalists, civil society organizations including those focusing on youth, women, persons with disabilities, and religious minorities, as well as with accredited international observer missions, said a release issued from Washington.
This mission follows a joint pre-election assessment mission (PEAM) that NDI and IRI conducted from October 8 to 11, 2023.
IRI and NDI are nonpartisan, nongovernmental organizations that support and strengthen democratic institutions and practices worldwide. The institutes have collectively observed more than 200 elections in more than 50 countries over the last 30 years.
