United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission on Sunday cleared the way for most candidates facing dual citizenship complications to contest the February 12 national election, but rejected appeals from two BNP aspirants from Cumilla-3 and Cumilla-10. BNP candidate Abdul Gafur Bhuiyan (Cumilla-10) lost his candidature on ground of dual citizenship issue during the hearing in his absentia, while another BNP contestant Sarowar Alamgir (Chattogram-2) lost his candidacy on ground of loan default on Sunday. EC clears Aslam Chy, blocks BNP bids in Ctg-2, Cumilla-10 However, the EC, chaired by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, kept the fate of BNP candidate Kazi Shah Mofazzel Hossain Kaikobad (Cumilla-3) pending for the verification of denouncement of his Turkish citizenship. But the Commission is most likely to uphold his candidacy to run the election from Cumilla-3. Earlier, on Saturday, the Commission cancelled the candidacy of BNP’s Monzurul Ahsan Munshi and upheld that of National Citizen Party (NCP) candidate Abul Hasnat, popularly known as Hasnat Abdullah, in Cumilla-4. Munshi's candidacy was revoked on the grounds of loan default. Read more: Swiss, Brazilian envoys meet Tarique  The EC heard more than 20 petitions related to dual citizenship issues, including several taken up suo motu, and delivered verdicts on all such appeals on Sunday, the final day of the nine-day hearing, aiming to ensure consistency in decisions on similar cases. The candidates, who faced dual citizenship barriers but their nominations were finally upheld or restored, include BNP candidates Abdul Awal Mintoo (Feni-3), Afroza Khanam (Manikganj-3), AKM Kamruzzaman (Dinajpur-5), Shama Obaid (Faridpur-2), Shawkatul Islam (Maulvibazar-2), Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan (Brahmanbaria-4), Moniruzzaman (Satkhira-4), Tahir Raihan (Sunamganj-2) and Fahim Chowdhury (Sherpur-2), Jamaat-e-Islami candidates Nazrul Islam (Dhaka-1), Zunaid Hasan (Brahmanbaria-3), AKM Fazlul Haqaue (Chattogram-9) and Mahbubul Alam (Kurigram-3), NCP candidate Ehteshamul Haque (Sylhet-1) independent candidates Anwar Hossain (Sunamganj-3) and Sujat Miah (Habiganj-1) and Islami Andolan Bangladesh candidate Zahirul Islam (Noakhali-1). Besides, the Commission upheld the candidacy of BNP’s Mohammad Aslam Chowdhury (Chattogram-4) and restored the candidacy of Jamaat’s Mohammad Mosleh Uddin Farid (Jashore-2), settling the appeal petitions on ground of loan default. The EC on Saturday last (January 10) started hearing of the appeal petitions filed by aggrieved persons and organisations against the decisions of the returning officers over the acceptance and cancellations of nomination papers during the scrutiny. The Commission ended the hearing settling  all the 645 appeals on Sunday (January 18). Following the nine-day hearing, more than 400 previously invalid candidates returned to the February-12 electoral race. Speaking at the conclusion of the hearings, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said the Commission did not show any bias while disposing of appeals filed against decisions of returning officers. He said the EC even relaxed the requirement of one-percent voter endorsement for independent candidates to encourage broader participation, adding that the Commission wants a participatory election to be held. 60 more candidates reinstated on day 6 of appeals process “We assure that neither I nor my team delivered any judgment with bias,” the CEC said, adding that uniformity was maintained in decisions related to dual citizenship issues. According to the EC, a total of 2,568 aspirants submitted nomination papers to contest the upcoming national election from the country’s 300 constituencies by the December-29 deadline. After scrutiny, returning officers declared 1,842 nomination papers valid and rejected 723 others. The Election Commission on December 11 announced the polls schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12, 2026. According to the schedule, the late date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20. The election campaign will start on January 22 and continue till (7:30am on February 10) 48 hours before the balloting period.

BNP on Tuesday (January 13, 2026) expressed serious concerns over the cancellation of candidates’ nomination papers in the name of submission of proof documents of giving up foreign citizenship as well as the collection of voters’ personal information by a particular political party. The party also alleged the name of BNP and its electoral symbol ‘Sheaf of Paddy’ were intentionally kept in the folding line of postal ballots to make them less visible, which were already sent to expatriate voters in different foreign countries. A four-member BNP delegation, led by BNP’s Central Election Steering Committee Chairman Nazrul Islam Khan, raised the concern and allegation at a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the city’s Nirbachan Bhaban. Election commissioners and the EC senior secretary were present at the meeting. Read more: Functional parliamentary committees key to political accountability: Amir Khosru Briefing reporters after the meeting, Nazrul Islam Khan said the issue of dual citizenship has created complications not only for BNP candidates but also for aspirants from other political parties. The Constitution clearly states that a person becomes eligible to contest elections once he or she gives up foreign citizenship, he said. “The affidavit has to be filed. In the affidavit it needs to mention whether the aspirant is a citizen of any other country or not…. There is no mention (condition) of submitting any proof documents regarding (giving up) the citizenship (of a foreign country). However, we see that in some places, the Returning Officer has declared the candidature of the candidates invalid on such issues, and the candidature of some candidates is being cancelled in the appeals heard by the Election Commission,” he said. Nazrul Islam, also a BNP Standing Committee member said two candidates of Jamaat-e-Islami have already lost their candidature on similar grounds. We think the review should be conducted equally for all candidates. The candidacy of their candidates also should be reviewed as well,” he said. He said many candidates were forced to leave the country during the past 15–16 years during the repressive regime and had to stay abroad for long periods, during which some obtained foreign citizenship. The BNP leader said those candidates have since returned under the changed political situation and relinquished their foreign citizenship, making them eligible to contest elections under the Constitution. “If such candidates are deprived of contesting the election on excuses or technical grounds (failed to submit proof document), it will be grossly unjust and will obstruct the competitive and fair election that people are waiting for,” he said. Replying to a question, the BNP leader said they have concern over it as two candidatures have already been cancelled. Read more: BNP seeks Army Chief’s intervention over Chuadanga BNP leader’s killing He said BNP has several candidates who were compelled to stay abroad during difficult times, later renounced their foreign citizenship, and therefore remain constitutionally eligible to contest elections. He said BNP told the Election Commission that no citizen should be deprived of constitutional rights under any circumstances. Sheaf of Paddy in postal ballots: The BNP leader also alleged that in postal ballots, the names and symbols of certain political parties have intentionally been placed prominently on the first line, while BNP’s name and symbol were placed in the middle, making them less visible when the paper is folded. “We clearly told the Commission that such a strategy should not be implemented in the in-country postal ballots and that this anomaly must be corrected,” he said. Nazrul Islam said also raised concerns over the distribution of postal ballots abroad, alleging irregularities in the process. He said videos circulating on social media show leaders of a particular political party handling a large number of ballot papers in Bahrain. He said the EC told them that the issue has come to their notice and already contacted the Bangladeshi ambassador in Bahrain. Read more: BNP gears up in Sylhet as Tarique Rahman set to launch election campaign The Commission assured that further investigation would be conducted and action would be taken based on the findings. The BNP leader further alleged that a particular political party has been collecting voters’ national identity card details and mobile phone numbers across the country. The purpose behind such collection is suspicious and unprecedented. “Such activities may be aimed at creating fake voters or influencing votes,” he said. He said the collection of mobile financial service numbers could indicate the possibility of monetary transactions. BNP urged the Election Commission to take action in this regard, and the Commission assured that necessary steps would be taken. Other BNP delegation members are BNP election steering committee chief coordinator Ismail Jabiullah and its members Barrister Ruhul Kuddus Kajol and also Dr Mohammad Zakaria. The Election Commission on December 11 announced the polls schedule to arrange the 13th parliamentary election and the referendum on the July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order simultaneously on February 12, 2026. A total of 2,568 aspirants submitted nomination papers to run the upcoming national election from the country’s 300 constituencies, but the returning officers declared 1,842 nomination papers valid, while 723 others invalid and the rest ones were not examined during the scrutiny. Read more: Mirza Abbas alleges plot to destabilise country, vows not to fall into trap The Election Commission on Saturday last started the hearing and settling of the appeal petitions filed by the aggrieved persons against the cancellation and rejection of nomination papers by the returning officers. The EC will hear and dispose of a total of 645 petitions by January 18.

German lawmakers on Friday (January 19, 2024) approved legislation easing the rules on gaining citizenship and ending restrictions on holding dual citizenship. The government argues the plan will bolster the integration of immigrants and help attract skilled workers. Parliament voted 382-234 for the plan put forward by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal coalition, with 23 lawmakers abstaining. The main center-right opposition bloc criticized the project vehemently, arguing that it would cheapen German citizenship. The legislation will make people eligible for citizenship after five years in Germany, or three in case of “special integration accomplishments,” rather than eight or six years at present. German-born children would automatically become citizens if one parent has been a legal resident for five years, down from eight years now. Restrictions on holding dual citizenship will also be dropped. In principle, most people from countries other than European Union members and Switzerland now have to give up their previous nationality when they gain German citizenship, though there are some exemptions. Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands, UK, Canada file joint declaration of intervention in case against Myanmar at International Court of Justice The government says that 14% of the population — more than 12 million of the country’s 84.4 million inhabitants — doesn’t have German citizenship and that about 5.3 million of those have lived in Germany for at least a decade. It says that the naturalization rate in Germany is well below the EU average. In 2022, about 168,500 people were granted German citizenship. That was the highest figure since 2002, boosted by a large increase in the number of Syrian citizens who had arrived in the past decade being naturalized, but still only a fraction of long-term residents. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the reform puts Germany in line with European neighbors such as France and pointed to its need to attract more skilled workers. “We also must make qualified people from around the world an offer like the U.S., like Canada, of which acquiring German citizenship is a part,” she told reporters ahead of the vote. The legislation stipulates that people being naturalized must be able to support themselves and their relatives, though there are exemptions for people who came to West Germany as “guest workers” up to 1974 and for those who came to communist East Germany to work. The existing law requires that would-be citizens be committed to the “free democratic fundamental order,” and the new version specifies that antisemitic and racist acts are incompatible with that. Bangladesh to become world’s 9th largest market by 2030 overtaking UK, Germany: PM Hasina Scholz said in a video message that, at a time of mounting concern over the far right’s intentions toward immigrants, “we are telling all those who often have lived and worked for decades in Germany, who keep to our laws: You belong in Germany.” The reform means that no one will have to “deny his roots,” he added. The conservative opposition asserted that Germany is loosening citizenship requirements just as other countries are tightening theirs. “This isn’t a citizenship modernization bill — it is a citizenship devaluation bill,” center-right Christian Democrat Alexander Throm told lawmakers. People who have been in Germany for five or three years haven’t yet grown roots in the country, he said. And he argued that dropping restrictions on dual citizenship will “bring political conflicts from abroad into our politics.” The citizenship law overhaul is one of a series of social reforms that Scholz’s three-party coalition agreed to carry out when it took office in late 2021. Those also include plans to liberalize rules on the possession and sale of cannabis, and make it easier for transgender, intersex and nonbinary people to change their gender and name in official registers. Both still need parliamentary approval. In recent months, the government — which has become deeply unpopular as a result of persistent infighting, economic weakness and most recently a home-made budget crisis that resulted in spending and subsidy cuts — also has sought to defuse migration by asylum-seekers as a political problem. The citizenship reform was passed the day after lawmakers approved legislation that is intended to ease deportations of unsuccessful asylum-seekers. Germany's CO2 emissions are at their lowest in 7 decades, study shows

The High Court on Monday asked for details of Bangladeshi nationals who have dual citizenship and passports and are also suspected of amassing wealth abroad through money laundering.