10-member Commonwealth team for Bangladesh poll named

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland KC named a 10-member Commonwealth team to observe the Bangladesh general election on 7 January, 2024.

Following an invitation from the Bangladesh Election Commission the high-level Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) has been formed.

To be headed by a former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding the full composition of the CET comprises Prof. Attahiru Jega a former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria, Dr. Samuel Azu’u Fonkam, former Chairman, Elections Cameroon; Mr. Sabyasachi Banerjee, Advocate and Special Public Prosecutor, Calcutta High Court, India; Ms. Pauline Njoroge, digital media specialist, Kenya; Mr. Jeffrey Salim Waheed, former Deputy Foreign Minister, Maldives; Ms. Hennah Joku, media specialist, Papua New Guinea; Prof. Dinesha Samararatne, Professor, Department of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo; and Member of Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka, Ms. Terry Dale Ince; gender and human rights advocate, organisational development consultant and Founder of CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago and Mr. Mark Stephens, Partner, Howard Kennedy LLP and Member of Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association, United Kingdom (UK).

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland stressed the importance of fostering peaceful and credible elections in Bangladesh.

"The deployment was part of efforts to support democratic process in member-states, the secretary general said.