The cat has started to come out of the bag regarding the hired observers who praised Sunday's 12th National Assembly elections. The governments of these countries sent none of the observers; they were on retainer—paid to be election observers. After verifying several facts, Bangla Outlook has confirmed that these observers were hired.

Earlier, the observers who arrived to oversee the election represented various countries, but despite being covered by several media outlets, the veracity of the news remained unverified. Subsequently, following a press conference in Dhaka on Monday, the embassies of certain countries in Dhaka clarified their stance on the issue on behalf of these observers.

On Monday morning, the purported observation team from the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Norway, and Japan responded to the election by convening a press conference at the National Press Club in the capital.

During the press conference, it was stated that the monitoring team was led by former US Congressman Jim Bates, US political analyst Terry L. Easley, election observer Alexander Burton Gray, Chief of Staff of the White House National Security Council (NSC), and Paulo Casaca, executive director of the South Asian Democratic Forum.

Despite extensive reports of rigging during Sunday's vote in the country's popular media and worldwide, these observers offered praise, sparking questions in various circles. Given this development, there's a growing interest in learning more about these observers. Upon closer scrutiny, the evidence uncovered about them raises doubts about their moral integrity. Nearly all of these supposed observers are reportedly grossly dishonest individuals on a personal level.

Among them was Jim Bates, a senator from Ohio in 1980. The Union-Tribune and The Globe and Mail reported allegations that Jim Bates sexually harassed his colleagues. Subsequently, a woman and a man filed a complaint against him in court in 1988. Following the court proceedings, where evidence was presented, he faced punishment by the existing law.

On March 21, 1992, a report in the Los Angeles Times alleged that Jim Bates had abused his authority to engage in a significant financial scam, which came to light after several years passed. Additionally, the report highlighted multiple instances of alleged sexual harassment involving several women and men.

Furthermore, a Washington Post report dated October 19, 1989, extensively detailed allegations of Jim Bates' mistreatment of women. The report, titled 'Rep. Bates Reproved For Misconduct' by Tom Kenworthy, indicated that the House Ethics Committee investigated accusations of sexual misconduct and subsequently penalized him. The report noted that Jim Bates was the first member of Congress to face consequences for sexual harassment.

Furthermore, among the observers are Canada's Victor Oh and Chandra Arya. In February 2020, Victor Oh faced charges from Canada's Senate ethics watchdog for engaging in activities conflicting with state policies and interests. Consequently, on June 18 of the same year, the Senate Committee on Policy and Conflict of Interest recommended censuring Oh and requested an apology to the Senate.

As for Chandra Arya, there are allegations of involvement in a financial scam. Allegedly, between July 2020 and September 30, 2022, Arya and his associates are accused of embezzling $21,931 in state funds.

South Asia Democratic Forum's Executive Director, Paulo Casaca, played a significant role in the observation team. He notably commended Bangladesh's election process, describing it as excellent.

He stands accused of establishing fake media outlets and NGOs globally for financial gain. Allegedly, for the past 15 years, he orchestrated deceptive expert campaigns targeting Pakistan and China, having purportedly created over 750 counterfeit media outlets and NGOs allegedly funded by India. Paulo Casaca and his organisation, the South Asia Democratic Forum, supposedly focus on making money by disseminating false information worldwide.

On December 10, 2020, the BBC published a detailed report on Paolo Casaca titled 'The Dead Professor and the Vast Pro-India Disinformation Campaign.' The report outlines Paulo Casaca's alleged global racket.

In the meantime, Western countries, including the United States, have distanced themselves from the government concerning the elections. Consequently, entities such as the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Britain refrained from dispatching observers.

However, despite initially announcing they wouldn't send observers, Western countries made considerable efforts to engage observers from these nations. Eventually, 186 observers and journalists arrived in Dhaka, organised through the initiative of Bangladesh embassies situated in various countries. Notably, none of these observers were official state representatives of their respective countries. In Dhaka, they conducted election monitoring under the supervision of the Ministry of Information.

These observers visited multiple polling stations nationwide, including Dhaka, on Sunday. In their response provided in Dhaka on Monday, they asserted that the election was fair and accessible, but they noted a low voter turnout.

Interestingly, many media outlets have portrayed the response of these observers as the stance of the respective countries they hail from. Some government officials have also echoed this sentiment. Consequently, controversy has arisen regarding this representation.

Finally, various embassies in Dhaka clarified the situation through official statements. On Monday, the US Embassy in Dhaka informed the media that the US government did not officially observe the election. Instead, certain private citizens were present in Bangladesh during the election period. The statements made by these individuals or their organisations are representative of themselves and not the official position of the United States government.

Similarly, Canadian election observers expressed gratitude to the Election Commission (EC) for overseeing the 12th National Parliament election in a free and fair manner. The Canadian High Commission clarified that these statements do not reflect the stance of the Canadian government. Additionally, the High Commission emphasised that the government is not associated with individual comments made by observers.

The British High Commission in Dhaka conveyed that despite mentions of their country's observers in various media, they lack official information about any observers dispatched to Bangladesh. The source clarified that any official observer from the UK would be documented in the High Commission's records.