The Foreign Ministry has claimed to have spent around a crore for hosting foreign observers during the 7 January election. To settle the expenses, the Election Observers Facilitation Cell operating under the ministry has sent a letter to the Election Commission to furnish the bill related to these expenditures.
However, the foreign ministry and the Election Commission differ on the number of foreign observers whose expenses were covered by the government with the former claiming the tally to be 40 and the latter saying it to be 19.
However, both parties are unable to provide a precise figure regarding the duration of the observers' stay, and each points fingers at the other regarding the responsibility for covering the costs.
According to a letter from the Foreign Ministry, a total of Tk98.61 lakh was expended on various aspects including hotel accommodations, hospitality, setting up control and briefing rooms, as well as travel expenses for the foreign election observation team. A breakdown of these expenditures reveals that Tk7.95 lakh was allocated for accommodations and hospitality at the Inter Continental, while Tk15.14 lakh went towards constructing control and briefing rooms, and providing food.
Additionally, Tk1.80 lakh was spent on providing food from the Balaka Lounge at the airport to the guests. Car rentals for the observers during their stay incurred a cost of Tk41.34 lakh, alongside Tk56,390 for local air travel. Miscellaneous office expenses are estimated at Tk3.17 lakh.
Furthermore, the presence of 72 officials from the Ministry of Public Administration and Foreign Affairs was required from 26 December to 10 January to aid the foreign observers, incurring an additional cost of Tk22.50 lakh for food, training, inter-ministerial meetings, and entertainment, with an additional payment of Tk6.12 lakh based on their daily attendance.
The Election Commission sources say a total of 168 foreign journalists and observers arrived to monitor the 12th national election. Of these, 19 were hosted by the government, comprising three from China, India, Russia, Uzbekistan, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and two from Mauritius and Sri Lanka respectively.
In contrast, Ferdousi Shahriar, head of the Election Observers Facilitation Cell, stated that out of the 168 foreign observers, 40 were invited by the government, whose expenses were thus covered by the state. She also clarified that the sector-wise expenditure for the observers during their stay had been forwarded to the Election Commission for reimbursement.
However, the Election Commission's Additional Secretary, Ashok Kumar Debnath, stated that they received the hospitality bill for the foreign observers but clarified that the commission would not be covering the costs. Instead, he mentioned that the Ministry of External Affairs would be responsible for these expenses.