Throughout their time in Bangladesh, Jega and the others will meet various stakeholders.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has been included in a 10-person Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) assigned to observe the Bangladesh general elections scheduled for January 7, 2024.
Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, said the choice of Jega and nine others followed an invitation from the Bangladesh Election Commission.
According to Scotland, the former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, will lead the 10-man Commonwealth Expert Team (CET).
Accepting the invitation, Golding said it was an honour to lead the CET’s mission to observe Bangladesh’s elections.
In a statement, Scotland said, “The team’s deployment demonstrates the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to supporting electoral democracy in our 56 member countries and safeguarding the rights of the people of Bangladesh as they take part in these pivotal elections.”
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She added that the CET would also be supported by staff members from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Other members that constituted the team include Samuel Azu’u Fonkam, former chairman, Elections Cameroon; Sabyasachi Banerjee, advocate and special public prosecutor, Calcutta High Court, India; Pauline Njoroge, digital media specialist, Kenya; Jeffrey Salim Waheed, former deputy foreign minister, Maldives.
Others are 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; Terry Ince, gender and human rights advocate, organisational development consultant and founder of the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago; and Mark Stephens, partner, Howard Kennedy LLP and member of Commonwealth Lawyers Association, United Kingdom.
Throughout their time in Bangladesh, Jega and the others will meet various stakeholders, including political parties, police, civil society groups, citizen observers and monitor groups, as well as representatives from the media.