Election
Voting for Dhaka-17 by-polls, election in 7 municipalities underway
Voting for the by-election in Dhaka-17 constituency and election in seven municipalities of seven districts are underway today (July 17, 2023).
Voting started at 8 am, and it will continue till 4 pm without any break.
Voting will be held with the use of traditional ballot papers in the parliamentary by-election, unlike the recent city corporation polls where electronic voting machines were used.
Tight security measures have been taken to ensure peaceful voting, authorities said.
Read more: EC monitoring Dhaka-17 by-polls, elections of 2 municipalities through CCTV cameras
In the Dhaka-17 constituency, eight candidates are running in the race to be elected member of the parliament. The seat comprising Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and part of Dhaka Cantonment fell vacant after the death of popular actor and freedom fighter Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque on May 14 this year.
The contestants are Mohammad Ali Arafat of Bangladesh Awami League (with boat symbol), Sikder Anisur Rahman of Jatiya Party (plough), independent candidate Ashraful Hossain Alam widely known as "Hero Alam" (monochord), Kazi Rashidul Hasan of Zaker Party (rose), Akter Hossain of Bangladesh Sangskritik Muktijote (cane), independent candidate Tariqul Islam Bhuiyan (truck), Rezaul Karim Swapan of Bangladesh Congress (green coconut) and Sheikh Habibur Rahman of Trinamul BNP (golden fibre).
The number of voters is 325,205 under 125 polling stations in the Dhaka-17 constituency, which comprises wards 15,18,19 and 20 of Dhaka North City Corporation as well as Dhaka cantonment area.
On June 1, the Election Commission announced the by-election schedule for Dhaka-17 which fell vacant following the death of ruling Awami League MP Akbar Hossain Pathan alias Farooque.
Read more: Dhaka-17 parliamentary seat set to go to polls on Monday
EU Election Exploratory Mission holds meeting with BNP
The visiting Election Exploratory Mission from the European Union (EU) is holding a meeting with BNP this morning (July 15, 2023).
The meeting began around 9 am at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, said party’s media cell member Sayrul Kabir Khan.
The EU delegation and BNP are supposed to discuss various issues related to the next national election.
Countdown begins for govt's downfall, says BNP Leader Rizvi
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee Member Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, party chairperson’s adviser Ismail Jabiullah, Organising Secretary Shama Obaed and Human Rights Affairs Secretary Advocate Asaduzzaman Asad were attended the meeting.
Party sources said the BNP delegation may talk elaborately about previous polls held under the Awami League government and provide documents to justify their party’s stance of “not joining the election without a non-party interim government.”
They are also likely to discuss the latest political situation in the country, cases against “40 lakh” BNP leaders and activists, jailing of party chairperson Khaleda Zia and other leaders, and the alleged repressive acts by the government against opposition leaders and workers.
BNP unveils 31-point outline to 'rebuild, repair' state
The EU team is also scheduled to hold meetings with Jatiya Party, ruling Awami League and some other parties today.
The EU Election Exploratory Mission arrived here on July 9 on a two-week visit and it has already talked to the Election Communication and various stakeholders of the government as part of their move to assess whether a fully-fledged Election Observation Mission should be sent here by the EU before Bangladesh’s next parliamentary election.
No scope to hold ‘acceptable polls’ under AL govt: BNP tells Canadian envoy
BNP failed to garner foreign support: Quader
Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Friday (July 14, 2023) said that BNP wanted to get foreign support by presenting false information but failed.
Quader said this in a meeting with the presidents and general secretaries of AL associate organizations at the party president's political office in the capital's Dhanmondi this afternoon.
Quader, also Road Transport and Bridges minister, said foreign delegates did not meet with any political party, they met with the minister of home affairs, foreign affairs, especially the Prime Minister.
Before the arrival of foreign delegates, BNP tried to create the impression that more sanctions are coming. They (delegates) will tell the government to hold elections under the caretaker government and ask the prime minister to quit. What happened in the end?
Read more: EU Election Exploratory Mission holds meeting with BNP
Obaidul Quader said that foreign delegates basically want free, fair and peaceful elections. They did not say anything on ban, visa policy or anything on caretaker government.
"We also want peaceful elections and a peaceful environment is needed for peaceful elections. So we will ensure a peaceful environment in anyway", he added.
Awami League General Secretary urged BNP to join polls and avoid the conspiracy to come to power through the back door.
Besides, BNP has to take the responsibility for the attitude of BNP leaders and activists to disrupt the democratic process, terrorism, arson and election fraud.
Read more: BNP trying to destabilise country with an unconstitutional demand, Shahriar Alam says
From now on, AL's rally will be titled 'peace and development rally', the minister mentioned.
Only 37% of Americans voted in three recent national elections, says Pew report
Only 37 percent of eligible American citizens voted in the three most-recent national general elections, despite those elections witnessing some of the greatest turnout in decades, according to a Pew Research Centre analysis issued on Wednesday (July 12, 2023).
The study, which followed individual Americans’ voting decisions for the previous six years, emphasises both the small percentage of the population that regularly votes and the extent to which swings in turnout may alter the electoral landscape. When combined with other, often contradictory sources of electoral data, the findings assist to create a more complete image of the 2022 electorate, reports CNN.
According to the study, almost one-third of eligible US citizens voted in only one or two of the past three elections, while 30 percent did not vote in any of these elections, it said.
Also read: Biden, Trump to make final appeals ahead of crucial midterms
Consistent voters in the previous three elections were about evenly divided between those who supported the Democratic Party (49 percent) and those who supported the Republican Party (50 percent). In contrast, the political composition of less consistent voters changed with each election.
There was also substantial demographic variance in which groups regularly voted, with older and White Americans being more inclined to do so, the report also said.
Regardless of what motivates an individual’s decision to vote in a particular election, turnout volatility can have a significant influence on political outcomes. According to the Pew study, changing turnout was significantly more important than changing minds in the last two midterm elections, the report added.
Also read: US midterm election: Democrats repel Republicans backed by Trump in several left-leaning states
“Voters who were more favorable to Republican candidates turned out at higher rates compared with those who typically support Democrats,” the report’s authors write. “Shifting preferences among individual voters – though likely consequential in some races – was a much smaller factor in the 2022 midterms compared with turnout.”
Even a modest adjustment in voting preference can be significant in close elections, and the report adds that some groups, such as rural voters and White voters without a college degree, were disproportionately prone to switch sides.
The biggest change, though, was who did not vote last year. People who voted in 2018, but not in 2022, favoured Democrats by an almost 2-to-1 ratio, 64% to 33%, according to the research. In contrast, 2022 voters who had not voted in the previous four years favoured the Republican Party.
Also read: Trump looking to defy history with 3rd run for president
The Pew Research Centre utilised the nationally representative American Trends Panel to interview 11,377 US individuals in November 2022, including 7,041 adult citizens who were 18 or older in 2018 and for whom credible statistics on turnout and vote choice are available for the previous four general elections. In November 2020, it interviewed 11,818 individuals, and in November 2018, it surveyed 10,640 adults.
US visa policy to supplement govt commitment to hold free election: Uzra Zeya tells PM
Visiting US Department of State's Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya on Thursday said her country announced the new visa policy to supplement Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s commitment to hold free, fair and neutral election.
She made the statement while calling on the prime minister at her official residence Ganabhaban, PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim told reporters in a briefing.
“We do not have any bias towards any party, we want a neutral, free and fair election,” Zeya was quoted as telling the PM.
PM Hasina said that it is her commitment to hold free and fair election in the country.
Also read: US seeks worldwide partners' assistance for Rohingyas: Uzra Zeya
“We always fought for free and fair election in the country, we already have held free and fair election,” she said.
She mentioned that Awami League always fought for the rights of the people.
“We always fight for people’s right to choose their representatives,” she said.
She also mentioned that it was BNP who started vote rigging in the country. In this connection, she said that transparent ballot boxes have been introduced for polls.
Hasina recalled the atrocities, terrorism activities and arson attacks of BNP and their allies during 2013-15 that left 500 people killed.
Also read: Uzra Zeya reiterates US' hope for "peaceful, fair" elections process in Bangladesh
She also mentioned about the grenade attack on her rally in Dhaka on August 21 in 2004 that left 24 people killed and over 500 injured. She said she was saved by Awami League leaders and activists who formed a human shield after the attack during BNP-Jamaat rule.
Zeya told the PM that she visited Rohingya camps and talked to the displaced people from Myanmar.
She put emphasis on strengthening coordinated international efforts to ensure reparation of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar.
She mentioned that US will provide some USD 74 million for the operational cost in Rohingya camps.
Also read: Legal framework enough to hold free, fair elections: Law secretary to EU mission
She highly appreciated Sheikh Hasina for hosting such a huge number of Rohingyas in Bangladesh.
PM Hasina said that Bangladesh currently is hosting more than one million Ronhigays in two different areas of the country.
She also said that human trafficking and anti-social activities are going on in these camps which are very much alarming for the country’s security.
The under secretary said that her country will cooperate with Bangladesh for its financial and economic development.
She said that the US will help and work together with Bangladesh in labour reforms initiative.
In his connection, Hasina said that she personally pushed the owners of industries to enhance the wages and other facilities for the workers various times.
Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, PMO Secretary Mohammad Salahuddin, Bangladesh Ambassador to United States Mohammad Imran, US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and US Ambassador Peter Haas were present.
Also read: US Under Secretary Uzra Zeya, Donald Lu visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar
EU delegation holds meeting with EC on preparations for holding nat'l election
Members of the Election Exploratory Mission (ExM) from European Union (EU) had a meeting with the Election Commission (EC) today (July 11, 2023), and wanted to know about its preparations for holding the next election "fairly and peacefully."
The EC discussed its preparations with the visiting EU delegation. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, EU delegation leader Chelleri Riccardo, and EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Charles Whitely, among others, were present at the meeting.
EC proved its ‘impartiality, capability through fair polls’ in 5 recent city elections: Monitoring Forum tells EU delegates
A technical team of the mission will further discuss the relevant issues with the EC on July 18,19.
EU delegation leader Riccardo said they are in Dhaka to assess the pre-electoral conditions in order to prepare an analysis for the EU High Representative which will then decide whether or not a full election observation mission will be deployed in Bangladesh.
EU encourages ‘peaceful, fair, participatory’ election in Bangladesh: Ambassador Whiteley
The CEC did not make any comment, saying his views are aligned with that of the EU delegation leader. Riccardo did not take any questions from the media.
The EU mission will stay in Bangladesh till July 23.
The main objective of the Election Exploratory Mission is to assess the “advisability, usefulness and feasibility” of a possible EU Election Observation Mission for the upcoming parliamentary election, according to the EU Mission in Dhaka.
AL prefers dictatorship, feudalism, not democracy: Fakhrul
US doesn't consider it interference when other countries discuss its elections: State Dept
The United States has said holding free and fair elections in Bangladesh is a "shared desire" of the two friendly countries.
"It’s a desire that we share as a friend and partner of Bangladesh for over 50 years," said US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller in a regular briefing at the State Department on Monday (July 10, 2023).
He noted that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, has repeatedly stated her own commitment to free and fair elections.
Read: Momen welcomes foreign observers during maiden interaction with British envoy
"I don’t know why anyone would object to us calling for free and fair elections," Miller said, apparently referring to statements that came from Russia, China and Iranian media.
Miller reiterated that they do not support one political party over the other. "We support a genuine democratic process."
"We don’t consider it interference in internal affairs when other countries raise our elections process with us. We welcome those discussions as an opportunity to strengthen our democracy, and we don’t know why any other countries would object," he added.
Read: Dialogues between parties not held in other countries, including in the US: Momen
Asked whether US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya and Assistant Secretary Donald Lu will engage with the ruling party and the opposition party BNP, Miller said she will meet with senior government officials to discuss shared humanitarian concerns, including the Rohingya refugee crisis, labor issues, human rights, free and fair elections, and combating trafficking in persons.
Key Engagements
US Under Secretary Zeya is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka this evening.
She is likely to visit the Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday as the Rohingya issue remains one of the top priorities of her visit, an official told UNB.
She said her visit is aimed at advancing “shared solutions” to global challenges; contribute to a more free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific; and bolster humanitarian support for refugees and host communities throughout the region.
Read: US Under Secretary Uzra Zeya holds "productive" meeting with Ambassador Imran; looks forward to deepening partnership
She is likely to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Private Industries and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman apart from her meetings with Law and Home Ministers and Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, a diplomatic source told UNB.
US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu and Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia, USAID Änjali Kaur will be part of the delegation, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read: Not endorsing one political party vs another in Bangladesh: US State Dept says
Zeya leads global diplomatic efforts to strengthen democracy, advance universal human rights, support refugees and humanitarian relief, promote rule of law and counternarcotics cooperation, fight corruption and intolerance, prevent armed conflict, and eliminate human trafficking.
Election won’t be held as per anyone’s prescription: Quader
Awami League General Secretary and Bangladesh's Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today (July 02, 2023) said that the country’s election won’t be held as per anyone's prescription. It will be held according to the constitution, he said.
He came up with the remarks while talking to journalists in the conference room of the Road, Transport and Highway Division at the Secretariat on the first working day after the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.
“The election in Bangladesh won’t be held as per anyone's prescription; it will be held following the constitution, keeping an election-time government like other democratic countries in the world,” he said.
Read: Quader not budging from vow to hold elections in line with constitution
Asked whether there is "foreign intervention" regarding the election, Quader said that no one is intervening, perhaps some are giving suggestions and sharing thoughts.
“Many (foreigners) talk about fair elections, and we are listening. We will listen and accept suggestions, but there is no need to be concerned. We won't follow anyone's directives,” he said.
“The government wants BNP's participation in the election... We want a participatory election in the country,” the Awami League general secretary said.
Read: GM Quader wants permanent arrangement for fair elections
The minister also suggested that those who raise questions about the 2014 or 2018 elections in Bangladesh should concentrate on their own countries’ democracy.
The minister claimed that journey during Eid-ul-Azha was comfortable, as during Eid-ul-Fitr this year, due to initiatives taken by the government.
Read more: People have no confidence in country’s electoral system: GM Quader
One-point movement to realise caretaker govt will be different: Fakhrul
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday (July 01, 2023) said the current regime will be forced to concede to their demand for holding the next election under a non-party government as their party is going to launch a different type of movement involving the masses.
Talking to reporters at the BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office, he, however, assured that they will not announce any harsher programmes like hartal and blockade to avoid street violence.
“It’ll undoubtedly be a little different from the previous movements and the involvement of the people will also increase,” the BNP leader said.
Also read: BNP's movement to boil down to single point 'soon': Fakhrul
He also said they are confident that there will be huge involvement of mass people, especially the young ones, in their one-point anti-government movement.
“We believe that the government will finally be forced to concede and resign to hold the next election under a neutral government,” Fakhrul said.
He claimed that their party’s recent youth rallies in different cities and districts evoked overwhelming response.
Also read: It’s govt’s far-reaching political conspiracy, says Fakhrul about fresh case against Zia
“We’ll now begin (road) march programmes. We hope that we’ll kick off the one-point movement in the future,” the BNP leader said.
He said the one-point demand will be the combination of the BNP’s 10-point and the other opposition parties’ different demands with the objective to force the Awami League regime to quit, dissolve parliament, and arrange the national polls under a caretaker government by reconstituting the Election Commission. “The one-point demand is basically the resignation of this government.”
Asked about the nature of the new-type of movement, the BNP leader said they are consciously avoiding any harsher programmes like hartal and blockade.
Also read: Govt to blame for US’s disrespectful visa policy: Fakhrul
“There is no reason for us to resort to violence. If the government somehow pushes the movement in that direction, then they’ll be held responsible for it. We’re carrying out the movement peacefully and we want to go to the final stage of it peacefully."
Fakhrul, who returned to Dhaka in the afternoon from his home district Thakurgaon after celebrating the Eid-up-Azha, talked about different political issues while exchanging Eid greetings with journalists.
US says it would let India speak for its bilateral relations with Bangladesh
National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, has said the US would let the Indian government speak for its bilateral relations with Bangladesh.
“I think we’d let the Indian Government speak for its bilateral relations with Bangladesh… We have already made clear our desire to free and fair elections in Bangladesh,” Kirby said while responding to a question at a briefing on the upcoming state visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Diplomatic sources say regional and the global situation will come up for discussion during the Indian Prime Minister’s meeting with US President Joe Biden.
Read: Biden hosting Modi as US sees India as a pivotal force in Asia for decades to come
At the media briefing, Kirby said it is “commonplace and consistent” for President Biden to raise concerns over human rights wherever he goes and whatever leaders he is speaking to.
“Human rights are a foundational element of this administration’s foreign policy, and you can certainly expect that the President will – as he always does and as you can do with friends and partners like Prime Minister Modi in India – raise our concerns about that,” he said.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an official state visit to the United States, which will include a state dinner on June 22, according to the White House.
Read: Success in achieving ‘Sonar Bangla’ and ‘Global Britain’ depend on how Bangladesh and UK choose to cooperate: Shahriar Alam
The visit will affirm the deep and close partnership between the United States and India and the warm bonds of family and friendship that link Americans and Indians together, said the US government.
The visit will strengthen the two countries’ shared commitment to a free, open, prosperous, and secure Indo-Pacific and shared resolve to elevate strategic technology partnership, including in defence, clean energy, and space, White House said.
Read: Momen urges US to import more medicines from Bangladesh
The leaders will discuss ways to further expand educational exchanges and people-to-people ties between India and the US, as well as their work together to confront common challenges from climate change, to workforce development and health security.