The UN assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, will visit Bangladesh in the first week of December amid escalating violence to discuss preparations for the next general elections with all the stakeholders, diplomatic sources said.
It would be his third visit to Bangladesh which follows the escalation of violence and rigid stances of two major political parties on poll-time government.
Officials at foreign office confirmed that Taranco would arrive in Dhaka in the next week but they could not give the details of the tour.
The prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs Gowher Rizvi told a private television channel that Taranco would reach Dhaka on December 6 to see the preparations of the 10th parliamentary elections.
Taranco was expected to meet the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, the opposition leader Khaleda Zia and other political party leaders and civil society representatives during his visit to help ensure free, fair and credible polls in Bangladesh and would report back to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on the outcome of his visit ahead of the election, diplomatic sources said.
Earlier, Taranco visited Bangladesh in May 10-13, and in December 6-9, 2012 at the request of Ban Ki-moon.
During his stays in Dhaka, Taranco had met the prime minister, the opposition leader, the speaker, the foreign minister, the chief election commissioner, leaders of major political parties, and the representatives of civil society and the media.
Taranco had conveyed to all interlocutors a message from the UN chief about the urgent need for more meaningful and constructive political dialogue to create conducive conditions for the successful holding of the election.
-With New Age input
