Dhaka, Nov. 4 -- The Awami League, which is banned from conducting political activities and cannot participate in the next general election, has appealed to the United Nations to refrain from supporting polls in Bangladesh.

On Saturday, the party sent a letter to Stefan Liller, representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Dhaka, through former education minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nawfel.

The letter called on the UN and UNDP to suspend electoral assistance until an environment conducive to free and inclusive elections is restored.

It urged them to encourage national dialogue and consensus among all political parties, with human rights and rule of law upheld as a foundation for any electoral involvement.

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