<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">The United States has said it is "closely monitoring" the electoral environment in Bangladesh leading up to January’s national election, and they take incidents of violence "very seriously".</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At a regular briefing at the US Department of State on Tuesday, Spokesperson Matthew Miller said they are engaging and will continue to engage with the government, opposition, civil society, and other stakeholders to urge them to work together for the benefit of the Bangladeshi people, and to ensure free and fair elections that are conducted in a peaceful manner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"We do believe that dialogue is important to achieving those goals," he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Miller said holding of free and fair elections is the responsibility of everyone - all political parties, voters, government, civil society, and the media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"And what we want in Bangladesh is the same thing the Bangladeshi people want, which are free and fair elections conducted in a peaceful manner," the US State Department spokesperson said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Tuesday said the Election Commission has no option except to hold election on time as per the constitution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The EC has to hold the election on time, no matter what the situation is,” the CEC told journalists after his meeting with US Ambassador Peter Haas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Responding to a question, US State Department Spokesperson Miller said, “Let me just say that we have made clear that we expect the Government of Bangladesh, as we expect every government, to comply with their obligations under the Vienna Conventions for the safe protection of diplomats.” UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>