national elections

The broken promises

Voters in char areas of Lalmonirhat seem to have lost hope as several promises regarding the area's development had been announced in previous elections over the decades but nothing was done in reality.
A new kind of first-time voters

Abdul Awal, 58, cannot hold back his excitement as for the first time in his life he would be voting in the 11th parliamentary polls on December 30.
7 candidates attacked

Seven candidates running with the “sheaf of paddy” electoral symbol were attacked allegedly by ruling party men yesterday while 130 supporters of the Awami League and the BNP were injured across the country in polls violence.
AL runs on full throttle, BNP missing

With the election 14 days away, campaigning should be in full swing but the situation in Khulna is different.
Barishal yet to catch polls fever

The Barishal city is yet to see fully-fledged electioneering by the major political parties although the polls are just two weeks away.
Crammed beyond Capacity

Prisons across the country are crammed with a record number of inmates, in some places three to seven times their capacity, as a result of the crackdown on illegal drugs and a “mass arrest” of BNP men over the last few months.
Legal tangles cause BNP fresh worries

The BNP has been facing new difficulties since the party candidates submitted their nomination papers for the upcoming polls.
'Do not vote for my father'

Video footage of Niaz Morshed Elite, son of BNP-nominated candidate Monirul Islam Yousuf for Chattogram-1, went viral on social media as he urged voters not to elect his father.
BNP puts trust in 60 new faces

Around 60 new faces got BNP tickets for the December 30 parliamentary election and most of them are former student leaders and family members of veteran or deceased party leaders.
EC to discuss monitoring by foreign observers

The Election Commission (EC) hoped that observers from different countries would arrive to oversee polls despite the European Union refraining from sending its observers to monitor the upcoming 11th parliamentary elections for what it says is a lengthy process.
The knots yet to unravel

The last date of filing nomination is just four days away, but the Awami League and the BNP could not finalise their candidates for all 300 seats yet because of disagreements over sharing seats among alliance partners.
AL-JP Seat-Sharing: Hasina, Ershad may talk it out today

Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also chief of the ruling Awami League, at the Gono Bhaban today amid disagreement between the two parties over seat-sharing, said JP sources.
Fewer observers in Dec 30 polls

The presence of observers in the upcoming election will be thinner compared with that in 2008, as both domestic and international organisations are unwilling to deploy strong workforce mainly due to fund crunch.
Khaleda's JS Seat: More than a dozen seek BNP ticket

More than a dozen nomination seekers were interviewed yesterday by the BNP nomination board for Feni-1 from where party Chairperson Khaleda Zia was seeking to contest the upcoming national election.
Shop employee targets MP post on CPB ticket

The 11th parliamentary election has already seen thousands of nomination-seekers -- from retired public servants, businessmen, actors, singers, cricketers, footballers, labour leaders to bona fide politicians -- lining up to become a lawmaker.
BNP 'gets Khaleda's nod'

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has given the nod to her party's plan to join the upcoming parliamentary polls and enforce a series of agitation programmes in the run-up to the election, party insiders said.
Talk they talked

Yesterday's talks between the Jatiya Oikyafront and the Awami League-led 14-party alliance began with Dr Kamal Hossain putting forward the Oikyafront's proposals on the outline of the polls-time government, reconstitution of the Election Commission and creation of a level playing field for all political parties.
Where no party has complete grip

Like Khulna division from which it was carved out, Barishal has been a swing division since 2001.
Dissolve JS before polls schedule

The government should dissolve parliament before the announcement of schedule for the 11th national election to ensure a level playing field, speakers at a roundtable said yesterday.
BNP likely to offer 100 seats to partners

If the BNP joins the upcoming national polls, it is likely to set aside around 100 out of the 300 parliamentary seats for its alliance partners, party insiders say.
AL rebels to be expelled for life

With multiple aspirant candidates already campaigning hard in almost all constituencies, Awami League President Sheikh Hasina last night issued a tough warning to those looking to contest the election as rebels.
Grand alliance or 14-party?

With around two months left for the 11th national polls, the ruling Awami League is yet to finalise decisions on many key issues, including whether it will join the election under the 14-party or the grand alliance.
Surveillance: HRW worried at govt move

The Bangladesh government has embarked upon an intensive and intrusive surveillance and monitoring of social media ahead of the national election, raising concern over a chilling effect on speech, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.
Plot on to keep Khaleda, Tarique out of elections

The government is planning to amend the Representation of the People Order (RPO) to remove Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman from the party's leadership and make them disqualified for elections, BNP alleged yesterday.
BNP to meet CEC tomorrow

A six-member delegation of BNP will meet Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda tomorrow to discuss the overall situation ahead of the upcoming local and national elections.
5 city polls by July: CEC

The elections to five city corporations will be held by July this year ahead of the next national polls, Chief Election Commission (CEC) KM Nurul Huda says.