Bangladesh said on Sunday it had approved 175 foreign observers for next weekend's national election, dismissing US criticism for failing to secure accreditation for a US funded monitor. Past elections have been chaotic and sometimes violent. International observers shunned the last vote in 2014 that was boycotted by the main opposition party as there was no caretaker administration to oversee the process.
The US State Department said on Friday it was disappointed by Bangladesh's "inability to grant credentials and issue visas within the timeframe necessary" for the majority of international election monitors from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), which is funded by the US government.
ANFREL, which has operated in 57 election observation missions across Asia since 1997, said it had terminated its observer mission on Saturday due to "significant delays in the accreditation approval by the Bangladesh Election Commission and visa approvals by the (foreign ministry)". Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ANFREL cancelled its observation mission itself while the approval process was under way, adding it was "disheartened" by the State Department's statement.
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