Bangladesh cricket team's former captain and Member of Parliament, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, expressed his delight in meeting Argentine World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who is currently on a short trip to Dhaka.

The former captain took his children to meet the Argentine shotstopper, who played a key role in the country's third World Cup win last year, at an event in Badda. Later, Mashrafe posted a heartfelt message with pictures of his children alongside the Argentine star.    

"We met Emi, one of the heroes of Argentina's victory, in Dhaka today. Saw him for a short time, but it was a great feeling. The World Cup winning team's goalkeeper in front of our eyes! He does not know, how many years of waiting ended for me and millions like me, the day Argentina won the World Cup!," the message read.

Emiliano Martinez in a selfie with Mashrafe Bin Mortaza's daughter. Photo: Facebook

"I'm actually more delighted for my children. When I said, 'Emi's coming, do you want to meet?' they were jumping for joy. For the last two days they could not sleep properly for the excitement. After meeting Emi today, I said, 'The kids want your autograph.' He showed so much sincerity. It was, in a word, amazing. He even took pictures with them. Now they are very happy, and I am also very happy because of their happiness," Mashrafe further wrote.

"Emi, welcome to the land of Bengal. You have countless fans here, for ages. I hope you are also feeling good setting your feet on this ground," wrote Mashrafe, welcoming the Argentine icon.

Emiliano Martinez with the CEO of NEXT Ventures. Photo: Collected

Emiliano arrived in Dhaka early in the morning and was cordoned off to Westin Hotel in Gulshan under heavy security. He went to the office of NEXT Ventures, a digital business group, in Badda, in the morning where he spent some time meeting selected guests like Mashrafe and ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak. 

While there were fans and media in waiting at both the hotel and the office premises, they hardly had a glimpse of the Argentine footballer apart from behind the windows of the car he travelled in.

Later, amid heavy security, the Argentine reportedly left for the Prime Minister's Office where he is likely to meet the PM and hand over Argentina jersey to her. 

Martinez will leave Dhaka for Kolkata in the afternoon.  

Sylhet Strikers skipper Mashrafe Bin Mortaza pointed at the dropped catches as the reason behind their seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Chattogram Challengers in their opening game of the Bangladesh Premier League 2024 (BPL) in Mirpur on Friday. 

Chattogram were struggling at 59 for the loss of three while chasing the 178-run target but it was Shahadat Hossain Dipu and Najibullah Zadran's unbeaten fifties that sealed a comfortable win.
The duo put together a match-winning 121-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sylhet, however, have themselves to blame as they dropped Zadran on three occasions that diminished their chances.

"You all saw where we lost the game. We dropped three catches in a very short time. In T20s, if you drop too many catches, it's tough to make a comeback. The wicket was getting better as the dew factor came into play and we needed to grab those opportunities which we were unable to do. In T20s, even the good balls are being hit and when you drop catches, not one but three, then it's always tough to come back," Mashrafe told the media after the game.

Zadran remained not out on 61 off just 30 deliveries, while young Dipu, who made his BPL debut on the day, was unbeaten on 57 off 39 balls as he struck four sixes and as many fours.

"I tried to bat according to the demand of the situation since we lost a few quick wickets. I tried to ensure we didn't lose any more wickets and bat through to the next three-four overs. I was waiting to play my strokes whenever I got it multiple favourable zones, like square leg or down the ground," Dipu said after the match. "Zadran told me that if we could play a few overs initially and get seven-eight runs an over, then once we get set, we will get bad deliveries which we can punish."

Dipu, 21, who was a member of the 2020 ICC U-19 World Cup winning side, played just eight T20s before his BPL debut.
 

BNP Standing Committee member Abdul Moyeen Khan today demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and cancellation of yesterday's "dummy election".

"Sheikh Hasina's resignation is the only option. Sheikh Hasina must resign and the dummy election of January 7 must be called off right away," said Moyeen at a press conference in the BNP chairperson's office in Gulshan.

Selima Rahman and Nazrul Islam Khan, other standing committee members, were also present at the programme.

"A government of the dummy, by the dummy, for the dummy will be established if Sheikh Hasina attempts to form any kind of government through the dummy election," Moyeen said.

He said people want an accountable government elected by their votes, not a "dummy government."

He said BNP and other pro-democracy parties will continue their movement until an "accountable government" is elected through polls.

"Until an accountable government is established by the people's vote, the countrymen will continue their movement and struggle," he added.

Moyeen accused the Election Commission of peddling contradictory turnout figures of 27 percent and 40 percent.

"Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal once said the turnout was 27 percent. Then immediately another commissioner, sitting next to him, revised it as 40 percent," he added.

The 27 percent figure was provided at 3:00pm, an hour before polls closed.

The BNP leader congratulated people for "rejecting" the January 7 polls, which he called a "one-sided election" held through abuse of "state power and a dummy Election Commission, candidates and observers."

Moyeen said 19 centres in Khagrachhari recorded "zero turnout", which proves the election was a "mockery".

"It's not just 19 centres, in many other centres across the country not a single vote was cast or only 10-12 votes were cast," he said.

He claimed that Awami League even failed to ensure voters' presence despite "fielding dummy candidates".

Moyeen said, "We're continuing to stay on the streets, conduct mass contacts with the public, and hand out leaflets. We'll announce the next course of action."

Bangladesh's former ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza picked up a five-wicket haul for Legends of Rupganj in his return to action against Gazi Group Cricketers in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) today.

Mashrafe could play just five matches in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) before he had to leave the tournament due to political engagements.

Sent in to bat, Gazi were skittled out for just 136, courtesy of Mashrafe's five for 19 in 8 overs.

Mashrafe opened his account with a caught and bowled to remove Pritom Kumar for 14. Although he was still bowling with a shortened run-up, his line and length along with movement were still troubling for batters.

He produced a double-wicket over to remove Sabbir Hossen and Foysal Ahmed before returning next over to pick up Moin Khan for one.

He went on to complete his fifer in the 23rd over with the wicket of Mahfuzur Rahman Rabby. It was Mashrafe's eighth List A five-wicket haul with only Abdur Razzak ahead of him amongst Bangladesh bowlers with nine five-wicket hauls.

Rupganj chased down the target in 28 overs as Chowdhury Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 44-ball 47 while Shamim Hossain played a cameo 16-ball 26 to help Rupganj to a six-wicket win.

What is happening in the name of a general election on January 7 is, in reality, an attempt to take away people's voting rights. In a real election, all contestants can take part freely, and voters have several options to choose from to be their representatives. As we can see, voters won't really have many choices on January 7. The Awami League has put up its own candidates as its "rival" contestants. Its allies did not have confidence in this "rivalry"; hence, they sought assurance on seat-sharing beforehand, and the ruling party came to an understanding with the allies in this regard. Besides, unofficial arrangements are being made to ensure seats for some.

In the rest of the seats where the ruling party is claiming to have the so-called "contest," the main Awami League candidates are competing against dummy or "independent" candidates put up by the party to make the election look free and fair. When this is the situation, this election cannot be considered a proper one. We think the people of the country have rejected this election seeing it for what it really is: a farce.

Though the ruling party has been claiming to want a participatory election, they have created such a situation—cracking down on opposition parties and arresting their leaders—that there is little scope for the main opposition to enter the race. Many political parties, including Ganosamhati Andolan, have been claiming for a long time that a free and fair election is not possible under a partisan government. This has always been the case, and it was the Awami League which, as the party in opposition, waged a movement to establish a neutral caretaker government system.

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Nothing is normal if we don’t have our rights

However, the caretaker government system had some practical flaws. The Awami League accused BNP of trying to influence the caretaker government as well. Hence, a proposition to amend these flaws was raised, and even Awami League's parliamentary committee tabled some proposals to that end. But when it came back to power, it opted to scrap the caretaker government system altogether through the 15th Amendment of the constitution and made elections under the partisan government constitutional in 2011.

Since then, the ruling party has been parroting that the election must be held in accordance with the constitution. We have witnessed two general elections under the Awami League government: In 2014, we saw an election where half the seats were won uncontested, and in 2018, ballot stuffing happened the night before election day. These two elections proved without a shred of doubt that a free and fair election is not possible under a partisan government. So the main opposition has, quite logically, raised their demand for a caretaker government system to be framed in the constitution. And this demand is based on political consensus.

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What comes after January 7?

The Awami League could have done it if it wanted to. But instead, they snuffed out any possibilities of a dialogue. And using the planned violence at the BNP rally October 28, they cracked down on the BNP members.

So the main opposition's decision to boycott the January 7 election can be considered fair. They are also urging ordinary people to boycott the election. This appeal is getting significant positive response from the people, and the government knows that.

If you look at the history of parliamentary elections in the country, it is evident how enthusiastic Bangladeshis are about exercising their voting rights. For instance, the participation of voters in the 1991 election was 58 percent, 74-75 percent in 1996, 75-76 percent in 2001, and almost 86 percent in 2008. This time, however, the Awami League government is holding an election where they themselves are saying that the main challenge is to bring voters to the polling centres.

Since voters are reluctant to take part in this election, the ruling party has resorted to intimidation tactics, such as taking away VGF, elderly allowance, widow allowance, etc cards from social safety net beneficiaries, holding the cards until after the election, telling the voters they could get their cards back after they vote on January 7. In some cases, we have seen how supporters of the main opposition are being threatened to go to the polling booths, threatening to withhold important public services like birth registration, character certificate issuance, etc if they don't. Such threats violate people's freedom of choosing to vote. This is how the ruling regime is trying to validate this farce of an election.

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Can BNP survive the pre-election meltdown?

It may seem too late to state this now, but we believe that it is still possible to hold a participatory election by disbanding the parliament—the constitution allows a 90-day period to hold a national election following the disbandment of a parliament. During this period, the authorities can engage with the main opposition to resolve this political crisis. We urge all relevant authorities to take this route.

Translated from Bangla by Sumaiya Binte Shams.

Zonayed Saki is chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolan.

Views expressed in this article are the author's own.

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