‘Never heard of stuffing ballot boxes on night before polls in any other country’
Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ito Naoki on Monday said they expect that the next national election in Bangladesh will be held in a "free and fair" manner with the participation of all major political parties.
"We expect the next election will be a better one. Free and fair elections need to be done here. That's my strong hope," he said while responding to a question at an event titled "Meet the Ambassador" held in a Dhaka hotel.
Centre for Governance Studies (CGS) organised programme in collaboration with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh. CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman moderated the programme.
Naoki said he heard about the ballot box stuffing on the night before election day in Bangladesh and police personnel were reported to have stuffed ballot boxes. “I have never heard of this happening in any other country. Such things should never be repeated.”
He added that the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka even issued a statement expressing concern following the general election of 2018, which was a very 'unusual to do for the embassy.
The Ambassador said the Election Commission is working for a free and fair election and the government of Bangladesh is also telling that a free and fair election will be conducted. "It's very important."
The same time, the envoy said, this is something that the political parties should decide but the expectation is that the election will be a participatory one and the major political parties will participate in it.
in reply to a query of Rohingya repatriation, Naoki said, "It will be very difficult to see full-scale Rohingya repatriation soon, unless the situation improves there."
He, however, said that the Rohingya repatriation might begin on pilot basis at the moment before any full-scale repatriation to their homeland.
Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char, but not a single Rohingya was repatriated over the last five years.
"More than five years have passed. The situation is very unfortunate. Repatriation is, of course, the priority," he said.
The Ambassador said that the Rohingya repatriation was a crucial challenge for the international community.
He, however, said that the Japanese government was ready to work with the government of Bangladesh for the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
Appreciating Bangladesh's efforts and generosity to the Rohingyas, he said, Japan has been cooperative to Bangladesh.
Moreover, he said that his government has been communicating with the Myanmar military to halt the internal violence, release the detainees and restore democracy there.
Regarding the bilateral relations, Naoki said, "We have a comprehensive partnership. We intend to elevate it. We can agree to call our partnership a strategic partnership."
He has also expressed his country's interest to export defence-related equipment to Bangladesh which will further be discussed in the upcoming days.
It is noted that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has an upcoming visit to Japan slated for November 29-30 when Bangladesh will seek Japan's 'stronger engagement' in its development efforts through 'investment and financing' in major projects.
Sharing Japan's vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), Naoki said that it was something very comprehensive, but not against any country.
"Japan considers Bangladesh as a partner of FOIP. We will continue to promote our practical cooperation," he added.
The ambassador said that Japan has practical cooperation with Bangladesh in the areas of infrastructure development, connectivity, maritime security, and capacity building of security forces.
About investment, he said that there were challenges, but there would be improvements in terms of the investment
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