Election Commission
40 collect AL nomination papers for JS by-elections
A total of forty aspirants for the Awami League candidacy in the upcoming Dhaka-14, Sylhet-3 and Cumilla-5 by-elections collected the nomination papers in the first two days.
Awami League sources told UNB that eleven, nine and twenty aspirants collected the papers for Dhaka-14, Sylhet-3 and Cumilla-5 respectively.
The ruling party started the sale of nomination forms on Friday (June 4) and it will continue till June 10.
Also read: Fifth phase municipality polls: AL nomination board sits Saturday
Aspirants will be able to collect and submit their forms from 11am to 5pm from party president Sheikh Hasia's political office in Dhanmondi.
NID services to be provided from Home Ministry: Minister
All the activities relating to National Identity (NID) cards will be provided from the Home Ministry within the next two months.
Liberation War Affairs Minister AK Mozammel Haque came up with the announcement after a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order at the Home Ministry on Wednesday.
Read:CEC wants NID services to stay under EC
The minister presided over the meeting.
Covid surge: All elections slated for Apr 11 postponed
The Election Commission (EC) has postponed all elections scheduled for April 11 amid a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in recent days.
“Considering the overall coronavirus situation, the Commission has postponed the Laxmipur-2 by-polls, first phase election to 371 Union Parishads and the sixth phase election to 11 municipalities, which were all scheduled slated for April 11,” EC’s Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath told reporters.
The decision came from a meeting in the afternoon at the Nirbachan Bhaban with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda in the chair.
Bangladesh has been recording more than 5,000 cases per day since Monday. On Thursday, the health authorities confirmed 6,469 cases, the highest-ever daily case count since the first ones were announced on March 20 last year.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest-ever daily cases, 59 deaths
Debnath said these elections would not be held until the covid situation improves. The parliamentary by-polls and elections to the local bodies would be held from the stage where they were postponed, he added.
He said the candidates will have to keep their campaign suspended until the fresh date is announced for balloting.
EC announced schedules for these elections on March 11.
The deadline for submission of nomination was March 18. The nomination papers were scrutinised on March 19 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature was March 24.
The countrywide Union Parishad elections were supposed to kick off with polls to 371 at 64 upazilas of 19 districts.
Meanwhile, the EC announced the sixth phase municipal election to 11 bodies. It has already held elections to some 230 municipalities in the first five phases between December 28 and February 28 last.
The Laxmipur-2 constituency fell vacant on January 28 after independent MP Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul was convicted by a Kuwait court for criminal offenses.
BNP demands reconstitution of EC
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday demanded the constitution of a new election commission with “competent persons”, saying that the present commission is “worse even than an obedient salve”.
AL, democracy can’t get along: JaPa
Accusing the government of ‘destroying’ the election system in Bangladesh, Jatiya Party Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu on Tuesday said Awami League and democracy cannot get along.
Women voter number declines in Bangladesh
The number of voters in Bangladesh has increased to 11.17 crore (111.7 million) with the inclusion of 19 lakh fresh voters in the last one year, but the share of female voters has slightly declined to 49.33 percent from the previous 49.48 percent.
BNP not to join upcoming UP polls: Fakhrul
BNP has decided not to participate in the upcoming Union Parishad elections as it has got frustrated over the election process.
Bangladesh now a ‘police state’, alleges BNP
BNP leaders at a rally here on Saturday alleged that the government has turned Bangladesh into a ‘police state’ by ‘annihilating people’s voting rights only to continue its ‘fascist rule’.
5th phase polls to 29 municipalities Sunday
The 5th phase election to 29 municipalities in 20 districts will be held with the use of electronic voting machines (EVM) on Sunday.
4th phase municipality polls end amid sporadic violence, 1 killed in Chattogram
Balloting in the 4th phase polls to 55 municipalities ended on Sunday afternoon amid reports of sporadic violence and irregularities.