U.S. disappointed as major Bangladesh parties fail to reach consensus

Washington, Dec. 31 (NsNewsWire) — U.S. has expressed its disappointment as Bangladesh’s major political parties have not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair, and credible elections.

“We’re disappointed that the major political parties have not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair, and credible elections. We are prepared to reengage our efforts and in particular our observation efforts at a later time if there is a more conducive environment, but we are disappointed that so far they haven’t done so,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Marie Harf, told reporters at Daily Press Briefing in Washington DC on December 30, 2013.

TRANSCRIPT:

QUESTION: I have two small ones on South Asia, one on Bangladesh first.

MS. HARF: Yes, okay.

QUESTION: Do you have any reaction to the increasing violence there? And the opposition leader has been put under house arrest before the January 5th elections.

MS. HARF: We believe it’s more urgent than ever for the major parties to redouble their efforts to engage in constructive dialogue to find a way forward to holding free and fair elections that are credible and reflecting the will of the Bangladeshi people. As we’ve said repeatedly, violence is not acceptable for a number of reasons, but in part because it subverts the democratic process. And we have called on it to stop immediately. That’s certainly our position. We know there’s a lot of work still to be done there, but hopefully we can see some progress being made.

QUESTION: Have any phone calls been made from this building to the Bangladesh leaders?

MS. HARF: I am sure some phone calls have been made from this building. I am happy to check and see what our outreach has looked like.

QUESTION: And you believe that Bangladesh, in present circumstances, are headed towards free and fair and credible elections, or you see —

MS. HARF: Well, we, I think, issued a statement a few days ago on this. We’re disappointed that the major political parties have not yet reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair, and credible elections. We are prepared to reengage our efforts and in particular our observation efforts at a later time if there is a more conducive environment, but we are disappointed that so far they haven’t done so.

QUESTION: Do you support the move for a caretaker government which the opposition parties are demanding right now?

MS. HARF: I haven’t – I quite frankly haven’t seen those reports. I’m happy to see if there’s a response from our team.