Leadership is very important to avoid violence, he said, adding that leaders of the political parties must oppose violence and speak in favour of peaceful demonstrations.

He was talking to journalists after a seminar on 'Awareness creation for private sector infrastructure guidelines' organised by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

About the upcoming election Frowein said, "Although time is running out quickly, there is still the possibility to hold free and fair elections."

As the country is now under a caretaker government, whose main objective is to hold a free and fair election, there is scope for improvement and a lot of things are to be done for a fair election, he said.

"We all hope that the election will take place in time.....I am very optimistic that the election will be held peacefully," he said.

He said the EU is going to send 150 election observers. Of them, a team of long-term observers comprising 60 members will come five or six weeks before the election while the rest will come a week before the election.

The long-term observers will look into the pre-election issues, while the other team will observe polling, he added.