Posts by E-Bangladesh:
- AL, BNP pledges reflect govt reforms: Aziz
- 2 BNP men defect to AL
- EC asks all to respect code, warns against breach
- BLOG: What the political parties are promising us
- Another war around corner, 37 years after. Call to boycott war criminals through ballots gets louder
- BNP sketchy about crucial issues
- AL tough on graft, terrorism
- Election 2008: Defenders of the minority vote
- Promises, promises everywhere…
- Taskforces on graft trail set to wind up
- Election manifestos of AL and BNP
- AL accuses 4-party alliance of violating electoral code of conduct
- Azam J Chy seeks to retract Hasina case
- No fear of blasphemy law, hint AL, BNP
- Watch for rigging: Khaleda
- Candidate List by party symbols
- Candidate List by party
- An AL candidate’s spending spree
- BNP’s Polls Manifesto: Pledges abundant, but specific target missing
- Fight within alliances for at least 22 seats
- Election analysis: The manifestos
- Who to vote for
- BNP manifesto: 10 promises
- 36 points touch prices, power, parliament
- BNP pledges ‘equal rights to opposition’
- AL will pass no law in conflict with Quran
- Rehana flies in as Hasina campaign gears up
- Freedom fighters to publish war criminals list ahead of vote
- We joined AL for sure win: Ershad
- 9,976 file papers for 481 Upazila
- Dhaka sees delectably different polls race
- Economic Analysis of AL’s Polls Manifesto: Mix of doable, pragmatic and lofty things
- BNP unveils charter for saving people, country
- Beneath The Surface: Manifesto and money
- Polls and beyond: ‘Still no guarantee’
- Hasina unveils 23-point ‘Charter for Change’. Download the Awami League Manifesto from here.
- Dream list, but can AL deliver?
- Khaleda promises to cut prices, create jobs
- Jamaat’s manifesto promises ‘rights for the freedom fighters’
- Country in deep crisis: Khaleda says nationalist-Islamist forces can solve the problem
- Poll symbol allocation in a shambles
- AL’s manifesto: Refreshingly specific and time bound
- AL eyes on young voters to score in Dec 29 polls.
- Khaleda Zia urges people to make ‘right’ choice on Dec 29
- AL-led grand alliance finalises candidature, AL-242, Jatiya Party-49, 14-party-9
- Emergency to go on December 17: Govt announcement
Election Special: December 15, 2008 Headlines
December 16th, 2008BDNews24.com:
The Daily Star:
The Bangladesh Today:
The Financial Express:
The Daily Independent:
The New Age:
The New Nation:
Politicobd.com:
News Track India:
Merinews:
Election Special: December 14, 2008 Headlines
December 15th, 2008BDNews24.com:
The Daily Star:
The New Nation:
The Financial Express:
The Hindu:
“Regardless of who wins the election, the next government and the opposition parties will face the challenges of making Parliament work and contending with an Army that wants a greater say in politics.”
“Allegations of rigging could spark a party boycott or political violence. Technical flaws on election day with ballots or the voter roll could cause a delay or require re-polling in some areas.”
“The parties must not take the international community’s support for elections as an endorsement of their behaviour but rather see it as belated recognition of the dangers of military rule.”
Election Special: December 13, 2008 Headlines
December 13th, 2008BDNews24.com:
The Daily Star:
The Bangladesh Today:
“In the upcoming election due to be held on 29 December the inhabitants of the same remote village, one can safely predict, would cast their votes as they used to in all the past elections. The majorities of them will undoubtedly and blindly vote for party symbols, not for party leaders.
We should change our political mentality, but we can’t. We should vote for those who offer the ideal solutions to our problems, but we can’t. We must not cast our ballots blindly for party symbols, but we can’t. Our inability to do what we should do is again due to our sheer inability. We the voters and the campaigners are both blind.”
The New Nation:
Sulekha.com
Newstrack India:
Thaindian News
Khaleej Times:
AFP:
Election Special: Today’s Headlines
December 12th, 2008BDNews24.com:
The Daily Star:
The Financial Express:
The New Nation:
News From Bangladesh:
TIME:
Economist.com:
The government will decide when to withdraw the emergency
November 23rd, 2008The interim government has not yet decided whether to withdraw emergency before the December elections, an adviser to the interim government said.
‘How can you be certain that the state of emergency is going to be withdrawn before the polls?… I cannot say at this moment whether the emergency will be withdrawn,’ the home affairs adviser, MA Matin, said on Sunday in reply to queries after a meeting with the heads of the law enforcement agencies on security issues for the ninth parliamentary elections and the third upazila polls.
He, however, hoped law and order would not deteriorate even if the state of emergency was withdrawn. ‘The government will decide when to withdraw the emergency.’
Matin made the statement at a time when major political parties are demanding a complete withdrawal of the state of emergency before the December 29 national polls. The government of Fakhruddin Ahmed assumed office a day after the state of emergency had been declared on January 11, 2007 on the heels of political unrest.
He said troops, besides paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles, Raid Action Battalion, policemen and Ansars personnel, would be deployed to keep order for a few days during the elections by the order of the Election Commission.
There will be a striking force along with policemen and Ansars personnel at each polling station to ensure security, he said.
‘The government is not solely responsible for keeping law and order. The responsibility also lies with political parties and people in general.’
In reply to a query, Matin said the main challenge the government was facing was to conduct the December elections in a free and fair manner.
He said the meeting discussed the issues of security for the VVIPs and VIPs, including former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the home secretary, Abdul Karim, said there would be 35,500 polling centres across the country and a three-tier security system would be arranged at each centre.
In addition to Bangladesh Rifles personnel, coast guards, Rapid Action Battalion members and about 13–15 members of the police and Ansars would deployed at each polling centre.
As for control of the striking force, the home secretary said a statutory order was being prepared with specific instructions as to how the forces would operate during the polls. ‘We have drafted the order today with the consent of the Election Commission.’
He said the home ministry would set up a control room four days before the elections to monitor law and order.
He said the police had been directed to ensure that culprits were arrested and the illegal arms recovered so that the national elections could be held in an atmosphere free of terrorism. ‘The police have been asked to make quality, not quantity, arrests.’
The ninth parliamentary elections will be held on December 29
November 23rd, 2008The ninth parliamentary elections will be held on December 29 and the third upazila elections on January 22, the Election Commission announced on Sunday.
The chief election commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, in a jam-packed news conference after consultation with BNP and Awami League, announced the fresh polls schedules after the BNP-led alliance announced to contest the on condition of meeting three demands — complete withdrawal of state of emergency, nullifying section 91E of the representation of the people order and holding of upazila elections after one month of general elections.
According to the schedule for the national polls, the submission of nomination papers closes on November 30. The nomination papers will be scrutinised in December 3 and 4. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is December 11.
For the upazila elections, the submission of nomination papers closes on December 13. Nomination paper scrutiny has been scheduled for December 17-19. The last date for the withdrawal of candidature is December 31.
Shamsul said the commission had to change the polls fixture for three times on reports from grassroots level that the time given to file the candidature was not enough for the candidates to provide necessary documents regarding information of eight categories.
‘Besides, the government was trying hard to bring the BNP-led alliance to elections and the commission also decided to discuss their latest demands and hold talks with them for past two days. We also talked to the great alliance and heard their version. Though none of them had any specific recommendation, we tried to reach an acceptable programme,’ Shamsul said.
Shamsuls said there was a demand from BNP-led alliance to nullify the section 91E of RPO but was not possible for the commission. ‘We thoroughly reviewed their apprehensions of probable misuse of the section and their fear of denying justice and talked to cross section of people and then reached to opinion that it should not be repealed. It also appeared to us that many of them may not study the section carefully and lack understanding about it,’ he said.
The chief election commissioner said earlier there were provisions to take action on verbal and written complaints and witnessing by the commissioners on any violation of electoral rules but this time the option verbal complaints has been removed.
‘There is no possibility of denying justice as the decision would be taken by the commission on majority of votes and if the defendant dislikes the decision, he would have the scope to go to the High Court,’ he added.
Shamsul said both the alliances emphasised on withdrawal of state of emergency although they said it was not duty of the commission but they asked us to make a strong recommendation to the government about lifting emergency. ‘And, we assured them that we recommend the government to lift emergency,’ he added.
Shamsul hoped the ninth Jatiya Sangsad and third upazila polls would be held in a festive mood with the participation of the people of all walks of life and the political parties will plunge into electioneering from Monday. ‘There is no scope to doubt over holding the elections,’ he said.
The chief election commissioner did not answer a question whether the upazila polls would be held during the regime of caretaker government or under the next government.
Other two commissioners Sohul Hossain and Sakhawat Hossain were also present at the briefing.
The 9th parliamentary polls scheduled for January 22, 2007 was cancelled amid widespread political turmoil.
The commission this time has registered 8,11,30,973 voters.
The government of Fakhruddin Ahmed is trying to mislead the nation
November 22nd, 2008The Awami League-led alliance on Saturday censured the military-backed government of Fakhruddin Ahmed for trying to mislead the nation by making a ‘false’ claim that the two rival political alliances had failed to reach a consensus over polls.
‘The adviser [Hossain Zillur] either deliberately or mistakenly lied to the nation by accusing the two political alliances of not reaching a consensus’, AL joint secretary general Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters after a meeting with the Election Commission.
Referring to the government’s dialogues with the two alliances, particularly with Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia, Ashraf said during the dialogue with the AL-led alliance the adviser had told them that they had no specific agenda or any specific proposal for deferring the election date. ‘The adviser also informed us that the government’s discussion with the four-party alliance had failed’, Ashraf said.
‘But the adviser blamed the two alliances, we condemn the statement,’ said the AL leader.
The commerce and education adviser, Hossain Zillur Rahman, on November 19 said, ‘Parliamentary and upazila elections will go ahead as scheduled as there has been no consensus between the political alliances on the proposals put forward by the government and the Election Commission despite multifarious communications, sincerity and all-out efforts.’
The battling Begums finally meet
November 21st, 2008
Photo: Banglar Chokh
The two former prime ministers of Bangladesh, arch political rivals Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia exchanged greetings and shook hands on Friday. Their meeting after more than a decade was accompanied by thunderous applause by hundreds of invited guests and dignitaries in a reception in Dhaka cantonment.
The two leaders, who were kept behind bars by the military-backed government of Fakhruddin Ahmed and released on bail after nearly a year of detention, shared jail experiences and exchanged informal greetings at the Armed Forces Day reception at Senakunja.
The AL chief entered the reception venue five minutes earlier than the BNP chief. Hasina was chatting at that time with the advisers to the interim government when Khaleda approached the area reserved for the VIP. She suddenly drew near to the BNP chief to receive her.
Khaleda approached her hands towards Hasina. As they shook their hands, the dignitaries attended the program burst into roaring applauds to welcome the exchange of greetings.
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EC likely to defer poll schedule
November 21st, 2008On Friday evening the chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda said that the only target of the Election Commission (EC) was now to hold elections with the participation of all parties and he hoped to announce a decision on polls deferral as soon as possible.
‘This [deferral of polls] is an important national issue at this moment. And we will try to resolve the matter as soon as possible,’ Shamsul told reporters when he was asked about the outcome of the discussion with BNP-led alliance delegation of five-members. led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party vice-chairman MK Anwar.
The delegation at the meeting asked the commission to announce a fresh schedule for the general elections setting December 28, instead of December 18, as the polling date and agree to their three point demand: deferral of the upazila polls by a month after the parliamentary elections, repeal of Article 91E of the Representation of the People order to revoke ‘despotic powers’ of the commission to cancel candidature and a complete withdrawal of the state of emergency.
The commission in principle agreed the demand for polls deferral, but it was willing to set the fresh date after discussion with other stakeholders, including the Awami League and the government, said a source in the delegation.
The commission was, however, in a mood to retain its ‘despotic powers’ to cancel candidature, the source said. Withdrawal of the state of emergency is a matter to be considered by the government, he quoted the commission as saying.
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Political parties, government busy to resolve ‘crisis’ in Bangladesh
November 20th, 2008Major political parties and the interim government on Thursday put in hectic efforts to resolve the current political crisis by ensuring participation of the parties in the parliamentary elections.
Some leaders of the BNP, Awami League and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the panel of advisers dealing with political negotiations were keeping in touch till Thursday evening although the feuding sides were divided on the implementation of the four-point demand of the BNP and its allies.
‘The advisers communicated with some of us on Wednesday to know whether we would contest the polls if it could be held on December 28,’ the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, said at a briefing Thursday evening in her office at Gulshan. ‘They [advisers] said three of the four demands could be considered if the alliance agreed to the December 28 elections.’
Four of the five advisers dealing with political negotiations had a meeting at the secretariat on Thursday with the communications adviser, Ghulam Quader, in the chair.
The panel members — law adviser AF Hassan Ariff, LGRD and cooperatives adviser Anwarul Iqbal and commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman — attended the meeting, which lasted for an hour and a half, to discuss ways to address the political crisis.
