At least eight persons, including father and son, were killed and more than 150 others injured in post -election violence in the country on Monday. In Dohar upazila under Dhaka, six people were killed and 20 others hurt in clashes between supporters of Awami League (AL) and Jatiya Party (JP) in Bilashpur union under the upazila in the morning. With Monday’s death the number of death reached 30 in two days (Sunday and Monday). Reports of arson, vandalism and attack...
Headmaster of a government primary school who is also an activist of ruling Awami League (AL) was caught red handed while setting on fire to the school where he teaches. The person was identified as Abdul Mannan, Headmaster of Sujabad Government Primary school under Shahjahanpur Upazila, Bogra. He tried to use school staff Babul Hossain in setting on fire to school furniture on Tuesday morning to shift the blame on to Jamaat-Shibir. When the incident took place neither any teacher,...
As expected, the international press has unanimously denounced Sunday’s election to the 10th Jatiya Sangshad in Bangladesh, with most propagating the fear that the polls marked by an opposition boycott and violence portends an uncertain period for the country ahead. TIME magazine headlines its report “Bangladeshi Voters Lose Out in Deeply Flawed Election”, and went on to say that the results of the poll “bear little reflection of popular will, and the opposition hopes that the feeble mandate the government...
UNB, Chuadanga : BNP activists burned Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad in effigy and declared him persona non grata in the district on Tuesday noon. Witnesses said, the BNP men brought out a procession from its Shaheed Abdul Kashem Road office in the district town in support of the ongoing 48-hour hartal around 12 noon. As the procession reached Shaheed Hasan Chattar, the BNP activists burnt the CEC in effigy. Later, a rally was held at the Chattar from...
The main opposition BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said on Monday that the illegal government would not last long. The people of the country like the previous history staged a silent revolution against continuation of the autocracy, she said. Asking the government to come to a consensus, she called to cancel the farcical election and hold a free and fair election under a non-party caretaker government with the participation of all parties. Begum Zia said this in a statement to the...
The BNP-led 18-party alliance on Tuesday extended its ongoing 48-hour nationwide hartal by 12 hours until 6pm Wednesday demanding the cancellation of Sunday’s election results. The shutdown that will go alongside its ongoing nonstop countrywide blockade is also meant for protesting the arrest of its leaders and activists, including those picked up yesterday, and the killing of alliance activists ahead and after the election. BNP vice-chairman Selima Rahman came up with the announcement at a press conference at her Gulshan...
The stage managed election of the government is over and the Election Commission (EC) has claimed that 39 percent people have voted in the polls leaving the people to wonder how come it happened when most of the polling centers across the country produced a deserted look throughout the election-day. Meanwhile a functionary of Fair Election Monitoring Alliance (FEMA) in a TV remark said he believed the turnout were around 10 percent. A director of the National Human Rights Commission...
Amid the allegation of keeping her under house arrest, Canadian High Commissioner in Dhaka Heather Cruden met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia on Tuesday night. The meeting was held at the BNP chairperson’s Gulshan residence around 7:30pm. BNP vice-chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and BNP chairperson’s adviser Sabihuddin Ahmed were present at the meeting. However, neither the Canadian envoy nor the BNP leaders talked to media people about the meeting. Expressing its ‘extreme disappointment’ over Sunday’s election results, Canada on Monday urged...
The Commonwealth has also expressed its disappointment over limited participation and low voter turnout in Bangladesh elections and encouraged dialogue among political parties for a more inclusive and peaceful political process. “The limited levels of participation and the low voter turnout are disappointing,” said Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General, in a statement on Bangladesh elections. Therefore, Sharma said, it is critical that Bangladesh moves quickly to find a path forward through dialogue to a more inclusive and peaceful political process in...
Pro-BNP and Jamaat teachers of Dhaka University (DU) on Tuesday formed a human chain in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s residence, demanding cancellation of the 10th parliamentary election. About 150 teachers from all departments and faculties of the university participated in the programme held at noon. The teachers said that without opposition parties’ participation, the 10th parliamentary election had lost its credibility. Dean of Arts Faculty Professor Sadrul Amin Presided over the programme while Professor Tajmary SA Islam, Professor Rashidul Hasan,...
German ambassador to Bangladesh Dr. Albrecht Cronze on Monday called on BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan office on Monday evening. During the meeting they discussed prevailing political situation in the country. BNP Chair person’s adviser former Foreign Secretary Reaz Rahman and party vice Chairman former foreign secretary Shamsher M. Chowdhury were present during the meeting ,which lasted for about an hour....
The cloud overshadowing the post-election Jatiya Party leadership is only deepening. Party chairman HM Ershad is enjoying a friendly detention at Combined Military Hospital (CMH). People don’t clearly know whether his position is pro-government or an anti-government one. If his stance is anti-government he would have been in the jail, if he was pro-government he would have been openly contesting the polls and may be not facing the shameful defeat at Lalmonirhat-1 constituency where he had bagged only 7820 votes...