The UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar
Fernández Taranco, arrived in Bangladesh Friday evening amid the
country’s murky political situation that has cast a shadow on its
general election.
Taranco reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 7:55pm by an Emirates flight.
His visit is aimed at encouraging ‘dialogue and conditions’ conducive to
parliamentary elections scheduled for January 5, said a statement
issued by UN resident coordinator in Dhaka, Neal Walker.
Taranco will start his official tour on Saturday and will meet foreign
secretary M Shahidul Haque at 10:00am, foreign minister AH Mahmud Ali at
10:30am at the latter’s office on the day.
He will meet prime minister Sheikh Hasina at 4:00pm at her official
residence Ganobhaban and BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan
residence at 7:00pm on Saturday, according to PMO and BNP sources.
During his stay here, the UN envoy will also meet chief election
commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad, senior leaders of the Awami League
and BNP, representatives from the government, civil society and the
international community to help ensure free, fair and credible polls in
Bangladesh.
Taranco will leave Dhaka on December 10 and report back to the UN chief
on the outcome of his Bangladesh visit ahead of the election, said an
official source.
On May 13 in Dhaka, he gave an idea what could be the consequences in
case of unreliable polls and fruitless dialogue, saying, ‘Everybody
knows the consequences. The history of Bangladesh is already a good
indicator what consequences can be if you don’t have a free, fair and
credible election…the political actors could clearly understand what the
consequences would be.’
Last week, Ban Ki-moon wrote to Bangladesh’s two top leaders — Sheikh
Hasina and Khaleda Zia — and encouraged them to reach a mutually agreed
consensus through ‘constructive dialogue’ to hold a ‘non-violent’
election in Bangladesh with the participation of all parties.
The UN envoy visited Bangladesh from May 10 to 13 at the request of secretary-general of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon.
During his last visit to Dhaka, he met the prime minister, the BNP
chairperson, the speaker of parliament, the foreign minister, the chief
election commissioner, leaders of major political parties, and the
representatives of civil society and the media. (source)