Sabyasachi Banerjee, an advocate and special public prosecutor practicing in the Calcutta High Court, has been appointed as a member of the Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) assigned to observe the Bangladesh general elections, slated to be held on January 7. Besides Banerjee, the team comprises eight other members from all over the world including former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.In a statement, the Commonwealth Secretary General said,
“The Commonwealth’s commitment to fostering peaceful, fair and credible elections is unwavering. Impartial and independent elections observers provide valuable recommendations to improve and strengthen the elections and democratic processes.The team’s deployment demonstrates the Commonwealth’s continued commitment to supporting electoral democracy in our 56 member countries and safeguarding the rights of the people of Bangladesh as they take part in these pivotal elections.”Banerjee achieved his law degree from University of Pune and was awarded the “best student advocate of India” by Thrissur Law College, Kerala in 2000.He enrolled with the Delhi Bar Council in 2002 and has been practicing law for 21 years. He has appeared as a special public prosecutor for the Government of West Bengal. Banerjee was also a part of the panel headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan Lokur and set up by the West Bengal government in 2021 to probe the allegations that the Pegasus malware was being used to spy on politicians, lawyers and activists.A source close to Banerjee told Bar & Bench that the Commonwealth had approached him to be a part of its mission to secure free and fair elections in Bangladesh.
“This is not an election observer mission. It is an expert team that will analyse the ground situation of that country during the election period and submit a report to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth. It’s a mission with a truncated timeline and Commonwealth has deployed such a team upon invitation from the government,” the source said.
The expert team will consider consider all aspects of the election process and provide its observations on whether the polls are conducted in line with the democratic standards to which Bangladesh has committed itself. The CET will also be supported by staff members from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
TAGS: Commonwealth Expert Team (CET) Bangladesh general elections Calcutta High Court
