“Our only aim is to hold a free, fair, and impartial election. In any case, if we fail to do so, our country itself will turn into a failed state, because we will be isolated from the world,” he said.

The election commissioner was speaking as the chief guest at a training programme for executive magistrates on the occasion of the general election at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka.

The 12th parliamentary polls are scheduled to be held on 7 January with the major opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies boycotting the election.

“Not only 18 crore people are observing the polls, but also the entire world…they will evaluate how far the election is acceptable,” he added.