An eight-member pre-election observation team from International Republican Institute (IRI) met with Election Commissioner Brigadier General (retd) Abul Fazal Md Sanaullah on Wednesday to discuss preparations for the upcoming national election.

The meeting took place at Election Commission headquarters, Nirbachan Bhaban, in Dhaka.

The IRI delegation was led by board member Christopher J. Fussner and included Lisa Curtis, Jessica Keegan, Steve Cima, Jami Spykerman, Darin Bielecki, John Fluharty and Amitabha Ghosh.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, delegation member John Fluharty described the discussion as productive and said they had a “great conversation” with the Commission regarding the conduct of free and fair elections.

He added that the team would release a report following the completion of their mission in Bangladesh.

Election Commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed also attended the meeting.

According to an EC press release, the IRI team expressed satisfaction with the Commission’s election preparations and showed interest in deploying observers for the upcoming 13th National Parliamentary Election.