US expresses 'concern' with Bangladesh's lopsided vote

The United States on Tuesday expressed concern about "credible reports of harassment, intimidation and violence" in the weeks before Sunday's parliamentary election in Bangladesh. A State Department statement urged the country's Election Commission to "work constructively with all sides to address claims of irregularities."
But it offered its congratulations to "the tens of millions of Bangladeshis who voted" and said the US "remains deeply invested in the future of Bangladesh and its democratic development." "The United States is Bangladesh's largest foreign investor, largest single-country market for Bangladeshi exports, and home to a large community of Americans of Bangladeshi origin," it noted.