Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure a free and fair election in Bangladesh.

​The British Government has been consistent and clear in public and in private that we wish to see a free, fair and pluralistic election in Bangladesh. I have repeatedly encouraged the Government of Bangladesh and opposition parties to engage in an effective dialogue to this end. Through our High Commission in Dhaka we have also been clear that the Election Commission should be allowed to continue its important work without interference. We have encouraged international observation of the election and the EU has sent an Election Expert Mission. Through Department for International Development funding, the UK is also supporting local observation of the general election. The Foreign Secretary raised his concerns regarding the next election in Bangladesh with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when they met at the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September. I made the case for a free, fair and participatory election in a meeting with the Bangladesh Information Minister,Tarana Halim, on 14 December.