I spent the day with Sheikh Hasina meeting foreign election observers at her Dhanmondi residence.

We met representatives of the European Parliament and the European Union Election Observation Mission. We also met the delegation from the International Republican Institute and members from the British Parliament headed by Baroness Uddin.

It was surreal seeing members of my workplace (the British Parliament) in Dhaka and I spoke to Baroness Verma about the NHS after a very long time! I’ve been so obsessed with the Bangladesh elections that it was like speaking a foreign language.

Cllr Ali (stood on Sheikh Hasina’s right) suggested introducing a national minimum wage in Bangladesh. Any thoughts? Do email me your views on this.

The main question the foreign observers had was about whether Sheikh Hasina would accept the election results if she lost. Sheikh Hasina repeatedly stated that she would be willing to accept any result as long as the elections were conducted freely and fairly. The observers reassured her that they had worked hard to create a level playing field and that they would do everything possible to conduct credible elections.

I felt optimistic after listening to them because I really think it’s time to restore democracy in Bangladesh after 2 long years. Now let’s see how things go tomorrow…