United News of Bangladesh

BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan on Friday hoped that their party’s rebel candidates will withdraw from the race within the deadline set in the election schedule, otherwise the party will take organisational action. “The withdrawal period has not ended yet. We have asked them to respect the party decision and withdraw their nomination papers. We hope they will withdraw,” he said while talking to reporters after inaugurating a photo show on late BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital. Nazrul also said many rebels have already informed the party that they will quit. “I think the situation will improve within the withdrawal timeframe. Otherwise, the party will take organisational action against them.” The exhibition was organised by the ‘Bogura Media and Cultural Society (BMCS)’, a platform of journalists and cultural activists from Bogura working in Dhaka. Nazrul, a BNP Standing Committee member, inaugurated the exhibition, walked around the exhibition venue and appreciated the organisers. He said Khaleda Zia left behind her son Tarique Rahman as her successor, whom he described as the most popular political figure in the country at present. “We believe that people want to see positive changes in the country through him. That is why there is so much expectation and emotion among people about him,” the BNP leader said, adding, Tarique Rahman will move forward by upholding the ideals of his father, late President Ziaur Rahman, and his mother, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. “Tarique Rahman has already said that he will begin from where his mother left off. We think the country and the people will benefit only if he can take forward what Khaleda Zia did for the nation and the motherland. We hope we will receive cooperation from everyone, including the media, in this effort,” he said. Responding to a question about the recent killing of a Swechchasebak Dal leader during the election period, Nazrul said good initiatives often face obstacles. “In any good initiative there are enemies. Those who work for the country and its sovereignty also face enemies.” The BNP leader said maintaining law and order is essential for a fair election and urged the government to remain active and strategic. “We have told the government earlier as well. We are ready to cooperate. We are not doing anything that will create any law and order problem before the election,” Nazrul said, reminding that the daily responsibility of ensuring law and order lies with the government. “There are forces that do not want the election now, do not want democratic transition, or do not want stability. They will try to create instability,” the BNP leader said, expressing hope that the government will take appropriate steps to improve the law and order situation. Asked about BNP’s election manifesto, Nazrul said a committee is working on it and it will be announced soon. BNP Standing Committee to meet tonight to discuss political situation, other issues On student politics, he said BNP’s student wing could not work or enter universities and colleges for many years. Nazrul said another student organisation that is now performing relatively well previously worked under the cover of the ruling party, hiding its own identity. He said that group is now trying to enjoy the benefits of that strategy. “We never considered that strategy good and we did not follow it. So we do not expect any results from that strategy. But we certainly expect that much will depend on our own activities, our own efforts and our future political plans as a political party,” Nazrul observed.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin has said that the voting rights of people will be restored at any cost. "People have lost interest in voting due to the lack of opportunities, and we aim to address their regrets," he said while inaugurating the voter list updating programme-2025 at the Savar Upazila Parishad auditorium on Monday morning. The CEC said that the voting rights will be realised when common people will be able to vote for their preferred candidate without fear. During the event, election commissioners urged data collectors to remain vigilant, as the number of female voters in the latest update programme was alarmingly low. They have also warned against voters who vote in two places simultaneously. The door-to-door data collection campaign will continue till February 3 and the collection of biometric data of the eligible voters will be taken from February 5 to April 11. During the field-level data collection campaign, enumerators will collect the data of eligible voters who were born on and before January 1, 2008. Read: No conflict between reform and election: Fakhrul Besides, the enumerators will collect applications from the existing voters who intended to change voting addresses and the data of deceased voters for dropping their names from the voter list. According to the Electoral Training Institute, more than 66,000 people have already received training over the voter listing updating programme. The trained people include 55,016 enumerators and 11,801 supervisors. The EC will publish the draft updated electoral rolls incorporating the names of new voters on January 2, 2026. Following the resettlement of claims and objections, the commission will make the final electoral rolls on March 2, 2026. The Election Commission has recently issued a notification with 16 instructions for the officials and enumerators who will be engaged in the data collection drive. Read more: Main goal is to ensure free, fair election: EC Sanaullah The instructions include collection of data of those persons who had been born on and before January 1, 2008 but have remained out of the voter lists, ascertaining if such persons became voters in the past, writing proper spelling of names of possible voters in both Bangla and English and being careful so that the data of Rohingyas and foreign nationals could no way be collected. According to the existing voter lists (published on March 2, 2024), there are 121.85 million (121,850,160) voters in the country.

Jatiya Party (JaPa) on Tuesday announced its candidacy for elections to five parliamentary seats left vacant after BNP MPs resignation. By-polls to the five parliamentary seats will be held on February 1 next year. The candidates finally nominated by the National Party Nomination Board are – Hafiz Uddin Ahmed for Thakurgaon-3, Md Nurul Islam Omar for Bogura-6, Shahin Mostafa Kamal Bogura-4 and Md Rezaul Islam Bhuiyan for Brahmanbaria-2. Khandaker Delwar Jalali, press secretary to the JaPa chairman, revealed this in a press release today. Read more: By-elections to 5 vacant seats of BNP MPs on Feb 1, 2023 The Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule of the by-elections on December 18.  EC will conduct the by-polls to parliamentary seats -- Thakurgaon-3, Bogura-4, Bogura-6, Chapainawabganj-2 and Brahmanbaria-2. The EC secretary said candidates can submit their nomination papers till January 5. Returning officers will scrutinize the nomination papers on January 8 and January 15 has been set as the last date for withdrawal of candidature. Read more: By-polls to 5 vacant seats: AL to start distributing application forms Wednesday

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Qauder on Saturday announced a general amnesty for rebel candidates of local government elections and those who were involved in anti-disciplinary activities of the party. He said this to journalists after a meeting of the ruling party’s national committee at Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government residence Ganababhan in the capital. Read more: Chhatra League lifts suspension of Eden College committee He said the general amnesty was for those breaching party discipline, contesting in local elections as rebel candidates and internal feud after over 100 applications were placed for the amnesty. Quader, also road, transport and bridges minister, said the budget for holding the party’s council was fixed at Tk 3.13 core by reducing Tk 30 lakh in line with the austerity drive of the government. Read more: BNP MPs' decision to resign a 'mistake': Obaidul Quader

The final results of the 40th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination were published on Wednesday. The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) recommended appointment of 1,963 candidates to different cadre posts, said a press release. Read: 43rd BCS preliminary test results published Meanwhile 8,166 successful candidates have been kept for non-cadre posts subject to appointment based on vacancy. Details of the results are available at PSC website: www.bpsc.gov.bd.  To fill 1,903 vacant posts of different cadres, the BPSC published a circular in 2018. Later, 316 vacant posts were also added to it. Read: HC orders appointment of 84 BCS successful candidates Among 10,964 candidates, who faced the viva-voce, 10,254 came out successful.

Some 5,447 candidates remained absent on the first day as the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations began on Monday.