The upcoming 12th National Parliament elections are set to be under close observation, with applications of 22 thousand domestic observers.

Local organizations have submitted a staggering 21, 969 applications for observer accreditation, representing 96 domestic companies recently registered by the Election Commission (EC) for five years. Verification of these applications is currently underway, with the list of approved organizations and their allocated constituencies expected to be finalized soon.

Beyond domestic observers, the EC has received applications from 227 foreign observers and journalists, further underscoring the international community's interest in monitoring the Bangladesh elections. Additionally, the EC has officially invited 34 countries and four organizations to send observers.

The application deadline for foreign observers and journalists has closed, with 156 observers and 71 journalists submitting applications. The EC has extended invitations to 114 individuals from four organizations and the Election Commissions of 34 countries. All local expenses for these observers, excluding airfare, will be covered by the EC.

The European Union has already said that a team of technical experts will monitor the vote. Four members of this team have already come to the country. The Commonwealth, the US National Democratic Institute, also wants to monitor the polls.

According to EC sources, requests for vote observation have come from Thailand, Nepal, India, Britain, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Netherlands, Iraq, Palestine, Georgia, Uganda, Norway, Bulgaria, and Congo.

Apart from this, journalists from AFP, NDTV, New York Times, Reuters, Associates Press India, GG Press-Japan, Swedish Radio, The National of United Arab Emirates, The Yomiuri Shimbun of Japan, Jungi Feiheit media want to come to get news about the vote. A freelance journalist also applied.

On the other hand, the EC has invited the election commissions of India, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Australia, Canada, France, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea, Egypt, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Senegal, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Tunisia, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, Japan and Singapore to observe the vote. SAARC and OIC Secretary Generals, Fombosa, and A-Web chairpersons have also been invited.

Japanese Ambassador Iwama Kiminori said that a team of 16 people from his country has applied to observe the 12th National Assembly elections. He said, "We registered a total of 16 people, but not all of the 16 are from Japan." Three people from Japan and others from the embassy.

EC Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath said that the application for foreign observers and journalists has been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs and Home Affairs. After verification from there, the commission will give approval based on that. Accordingly, they will get a visa.

(The report was published in print and online version of The Bangladesh Pratidin on 23 December and rewritten in English by Tanvir Raihan)