Sixteen Japanese observers have shown their interest to the Election Commission to observe the next national election, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reports UNB.

Besides, observers from India, Palestine, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League will observe the election, said MoFA Spokesperson Seheli Sabrin said at a weekly media briefing yesterday.

She said the four-member election expert mission from the European Union (EU) will continue to stay in Bangladesh till January 21, 2024.

She said the team had a meeting with Additional Foreign Secretary M Nazrul Islam on November 30. They met Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on December 3, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the government has been continuing its efforts to bring back Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, who are living in the United Kingdom and United States of America, evading death sentence awarded to them for killing the country's intellectuals during the War of Liberation in 1971.

"We are maintaining constant communication with these two countries and working as part of the efforts to bring them back," she said.

Mueen and Ashraf were sentenced to death after Special War Crimes Tribunal found them guilty of abducting and murdering 18 people including nine university teachers, six journalists and three doctors in December 1971.