M Mushfiqul Fazal from Washington
The US Congress passed a bill unanimously for political leaders and judicial authorities in Bangladesh to respect the will of voters and ensure that all Bangladeshis will be able to participate freely in the upcoming elections, and that the elections will be impartial and inclusive.
The House lawmakers passed the bill without objection on Wednesday.
It called on the government of Bangladesh to respect the freedom of speech and of the press and to heed the Bangladesh Election Commission’s request to ensure security for minorities and maintain communal harmony for a peaceful election.
The House of Representatives reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to promote free, fair, transparent and credible elections in Bangladesh.
The bill also commended the government and people of Bangladesh for their generosity in hosting Rohingya refugees despite the hardships associated with responding to this man-made humanitarian disaster created by the Burmese military and security force’s crimes against humanity and genocide against the Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State.
Earlier on December 6 Congressman William Richard Keating placed a resolution reaffirming “the commitment of the United States to promote free, fair, transparent and credible polls in Bangladesh”.
He placed the resolution before the Congress asking the US government to promote free, fair, transparent, and credible elections in Bangladesh.
The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Democrat Congressmen Eliot Engel, Brad Sherman and Gerald Connolly, and Republican Congressmen Ted Yoho, Darren Soto and Steve Chabot.
As per the tradition of the US House of Representatives, the proposed resolution was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The resolution considered that democratic stability, regional security, and economic prosperity in Bangladesh and South Asia are vital to the national security interests of the US.
Washington should more actively engage with Bangladesh with respect to their shared interests in safeguarding human rights, religious freedom, and secular democracy in Bangladesh, while preventing the growth of religious extremism and militancy, the resolution added.
It said one of Bangladesh’s main political parties boycotted the 2014 general election due to concerns about the impartiality of the electoral process and in recent years, Bangladesh’s democratic system has faced challenges, including political violence, environmental strain, Islamist militancy, a refugee crisis, and challenges to freedom of speech and press.
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