United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday announced the election schedule for the women’s reserved seats of the 13th parliament, setting May 12 as the date for 'voting'. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed declared the election schedule for the 50 reserved seats at a press briefing at Nirbachan Bhaban. Although nominally 'elected', the elections to these 50 seats in Parliament are held indirectly, based on the proportional representation of political parties in the 300 directly elected general seats. Following the general election, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their share of the total seats. The number of seats for each party is determined by multiplying the number of seats won by 50 and dividing by 300. Based on that calculation, the EC secretary said the BNP and its alliance will get 36 seats (having won 212 seats) , while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance partners will get 13 seats (having won 77 seats) and the group of six independent MPs will get the remaining one seat. Parties nominate women for their allocated slots, and they are officially elected as a formality by the directly elected MPs - that essentially is the process that will take place on May 12. According to the schedule, the deadline for submission of nomination papers is April 21, which must be submitted to the EC Secretariat. The nomination papers will be scrutinized on April 22 and 23. The last date for filing appeals against the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers by the returning officer is April 26, while disposal of appeals will be held on April 27 and 28. The deadline for withdrawal of candidature is April 29, and election symbols will be allocated on April 30. The 'voting' by the MPs will be held on May 12. The MPs are supposed to cast votes to elect MPs to the reserved seats, if there is more than one candidate against any seat. But they usually don’t need to cast those votes as the parties don’t field more candidates than their allocated seats. Akhtar Ahmed said the six independent candidates have formed a group to field a candidate for one seat. Meanwhile, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana will not join any alliance. In the 13th parliamentary election held on February 12, 2026, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured 209 seats. Its allies — Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) and Ganosamhati Andolon — won one seat each. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami, winning 68 seats, represents the opposition. Its allies—NCP won six seats, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish two seats, and Khelafat Majlish one seat. Outside the two alliances, Islami Andolan Bangladesh won one seat, and seven candidates were elected as independents. According to the law, the EC must hold elections for the reserved women seats within 90 days of an election being gazetted, which in this case happened on February 13, the day after the general election.

Election to Sherpur-3 and by-election to Bogura-6 are set to be held on Thursday as the Election Commission (EC) has completed all necessary preparations to hold voting in a free and fair manner. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Wednesday, at a press briefing at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital, expressed hope that all concerned, including the media, will continue their cooperation to the EC to maintain the standards, which were set for national-level elections, during the polls in the two constituencies. On February 24 last, the EC announced the election schedule for the two parliamentary seats. The deadline for submission of nomination papers was March 2, while the scrutiny date of the nomination papers was March 5 and the last date for withdrawal of candidates was March 14. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman contested the February-12 general election from two parliamentary constituencies – Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17 and he was elected from both seats. But Tarique Rahman vacated Bogura-6 and kept Dhaka-17. Besides, the EC on February 4 last cancelled the election to Sherpur-3 constituency, following the death of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal. The elections to 299 out of the country’s 300 constituencies (except Sherpur-3) were held on February 12. The EC published a gazette of 297 elected MP candidates on February 12, keeping the election result of Chattogram-2 and 4 constituencies withheld in line with the court’s decisions.

Local Government Minister and BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and his wife Rahat Ara Begum left for Singapore on Monday night for medical check-ups. They departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at around 11:55pm on a Singapore Airlines flight, said Yunus Ali, Assistant Private Secretary to the minister. “Sir and Madam have gone to Singapore for health check-ups and to consult doctors. They will see specialist physicians there. Their appointments with doctors have been scheduled for Tuesday,” he said. Yunus also said Fakhrul and his wife are expected to return home in about a week. Fakhrul and Rahat Ara Begum have previously travelled to Singapore for treatment. They last visited the country on April 6, 2025, for medical check-ups. In 2015, while in jail, a blockage was detected in Fakhrul’s internal carotid artery. After his release, he went to Singapore for treatment. Since then, he has been travelling there regularly for follow-up treatment.  

Ahead of the election in Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi-Jhenaigati) constituency scheduled for April 9, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has deployed its 16 platoons to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful voting process. Following directives from the Election Commission, BGB personnel will serve as mobile and static forces from five days before the election to two days after the polls to maintain law and order. According to a press release issued by the BGB Mymensingh Battalion (39 BGB), under the supervision of the Mymensingh sector, the deployed platoons have established four base camps across Sreebardi and Jhenaigati upazilas to carry out their duties. Given that Sherpur-3 is a bordering constituency, the BGB presence has been strengthened, with personnel on the frontier also providing support to election areas as needed. The Sherpur-3 election, originally scheduled for February 12, was postponed following the death of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal. As per the revised schedule, voting will be held on April 9.

The BNP Standing Committee on Saturday night discussed holding the party’s next national council and expanding its political and organisational activities. “We discussed how we can quickly move the party towards a council in the near future in order to further expand our political and organisational activities,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He made the remarks while talking to reporters after over a two-hour meeting of the party’s Standing Committee at the party chairman’s Gulshan office. Fakhrul said the meeting also reviewed the 47-day programme taken by Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, and Standing Committee members shared their opinions and suggestions on various aspects of the initiatives. He said their discussions mainly focused on strengthening and expanding the party’s organisational and political activities. “We will try to move towards the council as quickly as possible, and we discussed this in detail,” he added. Asked whether the party council will be held before Eid-ul-Azha, he replied in the negative, saying it would take at least a few months to prepare before fixing a date. The party last held its sixth national council on March 19, 2016. Replying to another question, he said the issue of nomination of party candidates for the parliament’s reserved seats for women did not come up for discussion at their meeting. He said their chairman convened the meeting of the Standing Committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, to discuss how to keep the party active and continue its regular activities. The meeting began at around 8:40pm with BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the chair and ended around 11:50pm. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Prof AZM Zahid Hossain attended the meeting in person. Nazrul Islam Khan and Selima Rahman joined the meeting virtually. Another Standing Committee member, Mirza Abbas, is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore. This was the first meeting of the BNP’s highest policymaking body since the party returned to power through the February 12 national election. The last meeting of the Standing Committee was held on January 9 at the same venue.  

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman has expressed deep shock over the deaths in a fire at an unauthorised gas lighter factory in South Keraniganj. In a statement on Saturday night, he said the fire broke out at the Kadamtali factory around 1pm and five people, including three women, had died as of the time of the statement. Two others are seriously injured and undergoing treatment in hospital. He said the grief of the families of those killed in this tragic accident will never be filled. Dr Shafiqur Rahman prayed for the forgiveness of the souls of the deceased and expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and the injured. He said such accidents continue to occur due to the operation of illegal and unsafe factories, which is very worrying. He added that these losses are the result of irresponsibility and lack of proper supervision by the authorities concerned. He urged the government to conduct a thorough investigation, identify those responsible, and take strict legal action. He also called for the injured to receive the best possible treatment and for appropriate financial compensation to be provided to the families of both the deceased and the injured. The Jamaat Ameer stressed that effective measures must be taken against illegal factories and safety standards in industrial plants must be strengthened to prevent such accidents in the future.  

The BNP Standing Committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, sat in a meeting on Saturday night at the party chairman’s Gulshan office. The meeting began around 8:40pm with BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in the chair. BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Abdul Moyeen Khan, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Salahuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Hassan Mahmood Tuku and Prof AZM Zahid Hossain joined the meeting in person. Two other members Nazrul Islam Khan and Selima Rahman joined the meeting virtually. Another Standing Committee member Mirza Abbas is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Singapore. This is the first meeting of the BNP’s highest policymaking body since the party returned to power through the February 12 national election. A Standing Committee member, requesting anonymity, said the meeting is expected to discuss the country’s latest political situation, the energy crisis and several organisational matters. Its last meeting was held on January 9 at the same venue.

State Minister for Planning Zonayed Saki has stepped down as chief coordinator of Ganosamhati Andolon, the party announced on Saturday. Dewan Abdur Rashid Nilu has been made acting chief coordinator of the party, said Executive Coordinator Abul Hasan Rubel at a press conference held at the party’s Hatirpool central office. Nilu will serve in the role until a special council is convened to choose new leadership, he said.

The BNP Standing Committee will hold a meeting on Saturday night to discuss the country’s current political situation and the party’s organisational matters. “BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has convened a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Saturday,” BNP Media Cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan told UNB on Friday. He said the meeting will be held at 8:30pm at the BNP chairman’s political office in the capital’s Gulshan area with Tarique Rahman in the chair. It will be the first meeting of the BNP Standing Committee, the party’s highest policymaking body, since it returned to power through the February 12 national election. The last meeting of the BNP Standing Committee was held on January 9. A BNP Standing Committee member, requesting anonymity, said the meeting will discuss the latest political situation in the country, the energy crisis and several organisational issues.

BNP Standing Committee member and political adviser to the Prime Minister Mirza Abbas has been shifted to a cabin from the Neuro Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Singapore General Hospital after 19 days under close medical observation. BNP Health Affairs Secretary Dr Rafiqul Islam said his condition has shown some improvement. “I spoke to his wife Afroza Abbas this morning. His condition is gradually improving. He has been moved from the ICU to a cabin today,” he said. Rafiqul also said doctors will continue advanced physiotherapy at the cabin, as Mirza Abbas underwent a complex brain surgery. “His treatment is still going on under close medical supervision and will need to continue,” Dr Rafiqul said. Mirza Abbas was flown to Singapore General Hospital by air ambulance on March 15 from a hospital in Dhaka while undergoing treatment. Earlier, on March 11, he fell unconscious during iftar and was admitted to Evercare Hospital. A medical board comprising leading neurologists of the country was formed, and based on its decision, he underwent emergency brain surgery. He was later taken to Singapore within 72 hours for further treatment.