Britain’s foreign aid department was on the defensive this week, following a Mail on Sunday article casting scorn on the decision to spend £200 million in aid on Bangladesh, after the violent and possibly rigged spectacle of the country’s election at the end of last year.
In a blistering response, the Department for International Development (DfID), called out the Mail’s headline, which it said was ‘factually inaccurate’ and said that ‘No UK aid was given to the Government of Bangladesh, the Bangladeshi Election Commission or any Bangladeshi political parties for this election.’
But while it may be true that the department has not given money directly to the Bangladeshi government, has the department been disingenuous in its denial? Mr Steerpike can reveal that DfID has in fact given money to two organisations which provided support to the Election Commission and political parties in Bangladesh last year.
As part of the £16 million ‘Strengthening Political Participation’ programme, which is intended to boost ‘locally led election observation and support civil society to demand more accountable politics’ the department has given money to the Asia foundation and Democracy International (which is co-funded by the United States aid department).
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