<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>An election observer mission from Japan will be in Bangladesh from January 5 to 9 to oversee the general election scheduled for January 7, 2024.&nbsp;</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The mission, to be dispatched by the government of Japan, will be headed by Watanabe Masato, former Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, and will consist of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh as well as an outside expert.</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to observing the casting and counting of votes, the mission will exchange views and information with the Bangladesh Election Commission and election observer missions from other countries, said the Japanese Embassy in Dhaka on Thursday.</div><div><br></div><div>The dispatch of the election observer mission is part of Japan's cooperation for the consolidation of democracy in Bangladesh in response to the Bangladesh Election Commission’s announcement that it would welcome international election observers.</div><div><br></div><div>With the opposition BNP boycotting the January 7 polls, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League party are all but guaranteed a fourth consecutive term. - UNB</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>