Must work together for democracy and reforms
Hero Alom may have been ostracised by our political and cultural elites, but he has a huge fan base among the poor and working class.
Absence of main opposition remains the biggest challenge
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Jatiya Sangsad, five-time lawmaker and president of the ruling alliance partner Workers’ Party, Rashed Khan Menon, talks about what an effective parliament should be like in an interview with Mohiuddin Alamgir of The Daily Star.
While the decision to scrap the EVMs is a step in the right direction, the EC must not lose sight of the fact that there are many other pressing issues that it must address for a free, fair and participatory elections.
Secretary Lu’s visit, against these backgrounds, reiterated the message of the past year that the US would like to see a fair and inclusive election in Bangladesh and that it is concerned about the shrinking civic space.
Recent mass gatherings mobilised by BNP signal a change in their strategy
There is no guarantee that elected candidates will stick to their clean image of yore.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said Awami League never used the backdoor for grabbing power, rather it always assumes state power through elections.
The first phase of the Union Parishad (UP) elections begins, marking the start of the country's maiden UP-level polls on partisan lines.
Six people including the mayor and rebel candidate of Awami League were injured in Jhalakati Sadar upazila amid the ongoing municipal elections, being held in nine districts.
Bangladesh returned to democracy in 1991 and since then the country has been ruled by two female leaders. In between, there had been around three years of interim periods, basically to hold elections. Bangladesh is also a rare country in the world where the two largest political parties are being led by two women for over the last three decades.
The BNP could not nominate anyone within the deadline yesterday for contesting the chairman posts in at least 25 Union Parishads in the second phase of elections for a lack of interest among its grassroots.
Ahead of the party's sixth national council, the BNP yesterday announced the schedule for elections to its top two posts -- chairperson and senior vice-chairman.
Elections to 752 union parishads, the biggest grassroots-level polls, will be held on March 22 on partisan lines for the first time.
The ruling Awami League wins in four municipalities while its arch rival BNP bags three mayoral posts in the elections to the local government bodies which were suspended due to violence and irregularities.
No elections in a democratic world are perfect, be it in a liberal or an emerging democracy.
The month of January has come again, starting a new year with new hopes and new promises. But it makes no difference to those stuck in a circle of pain, sorrow and uncertainties resulted from the unprecedented violence last year.
"Less than an hour after the voting began, some seven to eight ruling party men stormed the booth I was assigned to. Identifying themselves as Chhatra League and Jubo League activists, they tried to take the ballots away from me."