Commonwealth election observers will be in Bangladesh from 05 to 18 February for Bangladesh’s 13th parliamentary elections and the referendum on the July Charter.
The Commonwealth Observer Group will be led by H.E Nana Akufo-Addo, former President of the Republic of Ghana, along with 13 other members with distinguished backgrounds in law, politics, election administration, human rights, media, women’s rights and diplomacy.
This year marks the Commonwealth’s 46th year of observing elections across 40 countries, and its sixth election observation mission in Bangladesh since it started observing in the country in 1996.
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Members of the Bangladesh Commonwealth Observer Group
Chairperson: HE Nana Akufo Addo, Former President of Ghana
Observers (in alphabetical order of nationality):
- Mrs. Lebrechtta Nana Oye Hesse-Bayne, President, Caribbean Women in Leadership (CiWiL), Antigua and Barbuda
- Mr Neil Philip Ford, Communications specialist, Canada
- Ms Miliana Iga Ramatanivai, Coordinator, Pacific Youth Council, Fiji
- Datuk (Dr) Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi, Former Senator, Malaysia
- H.E Jeffrey Salim Waheed, Former Deputy Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives
- Mr Mohammad Irfan Abdool Rahman, Electoral Commissioner, Mauritius
- Prof. David John Francis, Former Foreign Minister, Sierra Leone
- Ms Sangeetha Yogendran, Human Rights Lawyer, Singapore
- Prof. Mandla Mchunu, Former Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission, South Africa
- Dr Dinesha Samararatne, Professor, Department of Public & International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Prof. Winifred Mary Tarinyeba Kiryabwire, Associate Professor of Law, Uganda
- Ms Rosemary Ajayi, Social Media Expert, United Kingdom
- Mr Kryticous Patrick Nshindano, Former Chief Electoral Officer, Zambia
Commonwealth Observer Groups (COGs)
The Commonwealth Secretariat is one of the original signatories to the 2005 Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.
In addition, Commonwealth Observer Groups abide by the Commonwealth’s Revised Guidelines for the Conduct of Election Observation in Member Countries, which were adopted at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London in 2018.
These stipulate that:
- COGs are “independent, including of the Secretariat. Members of a COG are invited by the Secretary-General to be a part of the team and each member is invited in their personal capacity as an eminent Commonwealth citizen, not as a representative of any member country, government or political group”.
More information on the role and mandate of observers can be found in the Commonwealth Handbook on Election Observation.
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Media contact
Temitope Kalejaiye, Public Relations and Senior Communications Officer, Commonwealth Secretariat
Email: [email protected]
WhatsApp: +44 7436032707
