EU’s Election Move Puts Gentle Pressure on Dhaka to Hold Polls as Planned

IPW Report: New York. 28th October 2025

It is now official that the European Union will be sending a regular election observation team to Bangladesh for the upcoming national election, expected to take place in February.

According to the announcement, the EU Ambassador, Mr. Michael Miller, met with the Chief Advisor, Professor Muhammad Yunus, and conveyed that the EU will deploy a full-capacity team of 150 to 200 observers. This marks a slight increase from the usual 150 observers that the EU typically sends. The deployment will take place in phases, with different groups of observers arriving in Dhaka over a period of one to two months.

The EU’s confirmation carries both procedural and political significance. It signals that the European Union expects the election to be held on schedule and within the announced time-frame. Their decision to send a full team reflects not only their institutional commitment to monitoring electoral transparency but also their confidence—or at least expectation—that the electoral process will move forward without delay.

From the government’s side, the message appears consistent: officials are emphasizing their readiness to conduct the election as planned. The alignment of both the EU’s stance and the government’s position may help reduce uncertainty surrounding the timing of the polls, though questions about broader political participation and fairness still remain within public discourse.

This will be the first full-fledged EU observation mission to Bangladesh in 17 years. The last comprehensive mission took place during the 2008 election, which was held under a caretaker government—a poll that ultimately brought the Awami League to power. The return of a full EU team after such a long gap suggests that international attention toward Bangladesh’s electoral process is intensifying once again.