, Jan. 6 -- The United Nations has said it will not send observers to Bangladesh unless mandated by the UN General Assembly or the Security Council.

"No. We do not. the UN itself doesn't send observers unless there is a mandate from the General Assembly or the Security Council. So that's no longer something that we do," said Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric at the regular media briefing at the UN Headquarters on January 5.

He made the remarks when a journalist wanted to know whether the United Nations will send any observer to the election, scheduled to be held on February 12.

"I can check for you whether the UN country office is offering any technical support, which is something that we often do in terms of the el...