DHAKA: Highlighting the long-term commitment to electoral cycle support in Bangladesh, United Nations Development Project (UNDP) said, looking forward to working with the Election Commission beyond the current project’s lifecycle.

Country Director of UNDP Bangladesh Pauline Tamesis made the observations in a statement on Monday.

Pauline Tamesis also regretted over a mistake of job advertisement that referred to past parliamentary elections.

The statement said, “Our attention has been drawn to press reports carried by several reputed newspapers of Bangladesh regarding the UNDP administered project, Strengthening Electoral Management in Bangladesh. These reports cited a job advertisement that referred to past parliamentary elections. 

I wish to clarify that the text cited in the media does not represent UNDP’s position on the 10th parliamentary nor Upazila elections. It seems that the advertisement was published without proper review and approval. This is an error that we regret and we have already taken steps to rectify this mistake. I apologize to our partners for the misunderstanding.

The UNDP wishes to highlight its long-term commitment to electoral cycle support in Bangladesh. Working with partners and the Election Commission of Bangladesh since 1995 our aim is to assist build an environment for transparent and peaceful elections. We very much value our trusted partnership with the Election Commission and remain committed to supporting the electoral process.

We are looking forward to working with the Election Commission beyond the current project’s lifecycle, and will be coordinating closely with the UN Electoral Focal Point on the next phases of support.”

BDST: 1005 HRS, OCT 14, 2014