Bangladesh's foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned 13 Western ambassadors after they issued a joint statement protesting against an attack on an independent candidate in a parliamentary by-election.
The envoys, including from the United States, Britain, France and the European Union, had condemned a July 17 attack on Ashraful Alom, an independent who stood against the winning ruling party candidate in the capital Dhaka.
Alom, an actor and social media star also known as Hero Alom, was beaten in an attack that his party alleged was carried out by supporters of the ruling party, the Awami League.
The 13 diplomats, also including envoys from Canada, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, issued a joint statement warning that "violence has no place in the democratic process".
Western governments have expressed concern over the political climate in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's party dominates the legislature.
The envoys were summoned to explain their statement, said Shahriar Alam, a junior foreign affairs minister.
"We said that it is an incident by which the peaceful, free and fair polls of the whole day cannot be judged," Alam told reporters after the meeting.
"Bangladesh expects that the diplomats will refrain from such undiplomatic behaviour in future."
US Embassy spokesperson Bryan Schiller, noting that arrests had been made in connection to the attack on Alom, said they had issued the statement in a bid to "support Bangladesh's goal of holding free, fair, and peaceful elections".
Bangladesh's next general election is due before the current parliament's term expires in January.
The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and dozens of smaller allies have called for protests throughout the country demanding Hasina step down and the polls take place under a neutral caretaker government.
Hasina has rejected the demand, saying it is unconstitutional.