US Visa Policy: Who Will Cure Quinine?

Dr. Rashid Askari: The United States seems hell-bent on ensuring free and fair elections in Bangladesh. President Joe Biden seems to be carrying out a personal crusade to make sure that the upcoming 12th parliamentary elections in Bangladesh are held fairly and squarely. It sounds a good idea on the surface, but if you get to the bottom, you ma...

US New VISA Policy for Bangladesh: Govt. expects undemocratic forces to refrain from misguided efforts to jeopardize electoral process.

The government of Bangladesh has said it expects that the local undemocratic forces that resort to violence, arson and destruction would remain cautious and refrain from their misguided efforts to jeopardize the electoral process as mandated by the Constitution. It is entirely up to the people of Bangladesh to sustain the hard-earned democratic...

People will vote for Awami League in next polls: PM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called the BNP-Jamaat vote thieves, saying the Bangladesh people will vote for Awami League (AL) in the next elections as she was accorded a civic reception by expatriate Bangladeshis in the United Kingdom (UK). "They (BNP-Jamaat) will destroy Bangladesh. So, make sure that the BNP-Jamaat clique couldn't come to...

PM Sheikh Hasina urges Commonwealth to send diversified observers to see next polls

Prime Minister today urged the Commonwealth to send diversified election observers to oversee the next parliamentary polls in Bangladesh as Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland paid a courtesy call on her at her place of residence here. "Our Prime Minister raised the issue of election and proposed the Commonwealth to send d...

Only Awami League exercises democracy, holds fair polls in Bangladesh: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that democracy in Bangladesh is practised only by her party, the Awami League, which has a history of holding free elections. “The Awami League practises a democratic system, and fair democratic practices prevail during the Awami League's rule,” she said. The prime minister, now on a fo...

2001 BNP-Jamaat Pre-Election Sabotage: Attacks & Massacres on Awami League Supporters to Seize Power

Prior to the 2001 national elections, BNP-Jamaat initiated widespread violence, including beatings, torture, and killings, against Awami League leaders, activists, and supporters. The Awami League, led by President Sheikh Hasina, had just completed a five-year term in government and peacefully transferred power to the caretaker government to ens...

BNP-Jamaat Pre-Election Terror in 2001: Minorities Barred from Going to Polling Centers, Fatwas on Religion & Brutality on Awami League Candidates

A week before the 2001 general elections, the BNP-Jamaat terrorists became reckless in seizing the power illegally. These criminals began attacking, vandalizing, and looting the homes of over one crore minority voters to prevent them from casting their votes. The cadres of Khaleda Zia even targeted the election campaign booths of Awami League an...

Foreign observers are welcome during next general election: HPM Sheikh Hasina to British MPs

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the next election will he held as per the constitution of the country and her government is ready to welcome election observers. “The next election will be held as per the constitution,” she said while four MPs of the British All-Party Parliamentary Group called on her at her office. T...

BNP's blueprint for winning the election: 300 Chhatra Dal leaders became election officials overnight!

In an urgent recruitment process, the BNP-Jamaat government appointed 300 party cadres as upazila election officers ahead of the January 22 elections in 2007. In the history of Bangladesh, there has never been such quick recruitment through PSC. The Khaleda Zia government tarnished the Public Service Commission and the recruitment process in gov...

The Use of EVM in the 12th Parliamentary Elections

Dr Rashid Askari: The probable use of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Bangladesh has excited a controversy as to whether or not this computer-mediated voting system is reliable. In this age of unprecedentedly high technological advancement, the very thought of the unreliability of the electronic vo...

BNP-Jamaat’s Deadly Brand of “Terror Politics” in Bangladesh

The Canadian Federal Court in Ottawa, Ontario in Gazi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) (2017 FC 94) held that BNP is indeed a terrorist organization. The court took into account that BNP is a party that uses armed struggle or violence to reach political objectives, uses ‘ammunitions and arms’ like hand bombs, pistols, and big swords like ...

Behind the BNP's poll reluctance

Sukharanjan Dasgupta: Why is Bangladesh's leading opposition party, the BNP, reluctant to fight the parliament elections? Why is it that the BNP leaders are threatening to launch an agitation to oust the Hasina government? At the root of this is a serious leadership crisis facing the BNP. Their chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia...

Why BNP Fears to Participate in Election?

The main goal of any political party in a democratic country is to serve the nation by reflecting the hopes and aspirations of the people. And the election is the only way to do it. Therefore, the key objective of the political party is to lead the country with support from the majority of the people to gain policy-making power. We have recently...

Lest We Forget The Real Mafias of Bangladesh

Barrister Shah Ali Farhad: When Awami League won a landslide election led by Sheikh Hasina on 29 December 2008, it was bad bad news for some very crooked and powerful people: 1. The convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib, whose appeals in the Supreme Court were intentionally stalled by the then BNP-Jamaat Government from 2001-06. Rememb...

Awami League picks Zaman Niketa for Bogura-6 by-polls

The Awami League has finalised its candidate for the parliamentary by-election to Bogura-6, the seat that fell vacant after BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Alam refused to take oath as MP. T Zaman Niketa Bogura, a joint general secretary of the ruling party’s Bogura district unit, will contest in the by-polls slated for on June 24 with the boat ...

Wrong decisions isolated BNP: Hasan Mahmud MP

Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud on Monday said a series of wrong decisions isolated BNP from the people and in certain cases it appeared as an anti-people party while its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emerged as the victim of the party’s “too much strategies”. “A series of wrong decisions in the past...

HPM Sheikh Hasina for continuation of development regardless of the party in power

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today put emphasis on maintaining development spree to make Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country. “Whichever party comes to power, it should keep up development spree to build Bangladesh a developed and prosperous country,” she said in her introductory speech at the dialogue between the 14-party...

14 Party Alliance and UNA agree to participate in the next national poll

The Awami League-led 14-party alliance and Jatiya Party-led United National Alliance (UNA) have agreed to participate in the next elections as per the constitution. “We’ve agreed to join the next elections according to the constitution and law of the country,” Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader told reporters on Mon...

Next general will be held on time: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina categorically said the polls must be held in Bangladesh on time, brushing aside confusions about the next general elections. “The Election Commission is taking preparation for the next polls and it will be held as per the commission’s schedule . . . I believe the election will surely be held,” she ...

People believe Bangladesh will move forward if Awami League is in power: HPM Sheikh Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has expressed her optimism that people of Bangladesh would once again elect Awami League in the forthcoming polls to keep up the ongoing development spree across the country. “Awami League enjoys massive popularity as the people still believe that the country would go ahead with Awami League remaining in power...