United News of Bangladesh

BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman will lead the party in the upcoming 13th national election, likely to be held in February, said his foreign affairs adviser Humayun Kabir on Thursday. Talking to reporters at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the morning after returning from the United States, he said, “The national election will be held in February. Tarique Rahman will lead BNP in that election.” Asked about Tarique Rahman’s return to Bangladesh, Kabir said that since he would be leading the party, it was natural for him to return.  “He will return home soon. Once the date is fixed, you will know… There is no doubt about his return,” he added. In the 2001 national election Khaleda Zia led BNP, while Tarique played an important role in the electoral process. This time, Tarique Rahman himself will lead the party in the election. About his visit to the UN General Assembly with Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus, Kabir said the Chief Adviser was very sincere about holding the upcoming national election. “We hope the election will be held in February next year,” he said. Salahuddin warns of plots against Bangladesh’s democratic transition He said the Chief Adviser led Bangladesh’s delegation at the UN General Assembly, which included different political parties and showed that Bangladesh was united. The BNP leader also defended the party over the incident at New York’s JFK Airport on 23 September, when political leaders were harassed during the Chief Adviser’s trip. “Throwing eggs does not damage the country’s image. Rather, it has again exposed the fascist nature of Awami League. It also proved why their political activities were banned in Bangladesh — it was the right decision,” he said. Kabir blamed the incident on poor coordination by the embassy and security officials but said the Chief Adviser had assured them that action would be taken. Tarique warns of covert autocracy, calls for unity He described the New York visit as a success, saying, “It showed that Bangladesh is united and standing tall on the international stage.”

The Election Commission (EC) will publish the final voter lists on November 18 ahead of the upcoming 13th parliamentary election, incorporating the youths whose ages would turn 18 years by October 31 next. The EC will publish the draft voter lists on November 1 to receive any objection and recommendation in this regard. Then the Commission will release the final electoral rolls on November 18 after settling claims and objections if any. Draft law approved to intensify EC’s authority to punish negligence in election duty According to a recent letter sent by the EC Secretariat to its field-level officials, the Commission will settle the claims, objections and appeal for correction, if any, over the draft voter lists, by November 17 and the final electoral rolls will be disclosed on November 18. Now the country has 12,63,07,504 voters. Among them, 6,41,00,455 are men, 6,22,05,819 are women, and 1,230 are third-gender voters.