United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission (EC) has published the two separate gazette notifications of the 297 Members of Parliament elected to the 13th parliament as well as the referendum results. The two  gazettes were issued on Friday night by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed. The names of the elected MPs along with their fathers’ or husbands’ names, mothers’ names and addresses have been published in the gazette. The process for administering the oath to the newly elected lawmakers will now be arranged. 59.44 percent votes cast in national election:EC Earlier on Thursday last, the voting was held in 299 out of 300 constituencies across the country in the 13th parliamentary election and referendum on July National Charter (Constitutional Reform) Implementation Order 2025. The election in Sherpur-3 constituency was earlier cancelled following the death of a contesting candidate. The EC on Friday announced the unofficial results of 297 constituencies and kept the results of Chattogram-2 and 4 constituencies postponed in the line of the court orders. In the election, BNP secured victory in 209 out of the 297 constituencies. BNP candidates are also leading in the two constituencies - Chattogram-2 and 4– where results have been withheld. Besides, BNP’s alliance partners – BJP (Andaleeve Rahman Partho), Ganaodhikar Parishad and Ganasamhati Andolan– won three seats. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami won 68 seats, while other partners of the Jamaat-led 11-party electoral alliance secured nine seats. Of them, NCP secured six seats, while Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish gained two seats and Khelafat Majlish won one seat. Pakistan PM congratulates Tarique Rahman on election win, pledges closer ties Besides, seven independent candidates clinched victory in seven other parliamentary seats. According to the separate gazette issued by the EC, a total of 48,200,660 voters cast their votes in favour of ‘Yes’ option, while 22,071,726 voters voted ‘No’ option. The number of rejected ballots in the referendum was also significant, standing at 7,422,637. According to the Constitution, newly elected MPs must take their oath, typically administered by the Speaker within three days of the gazette notification. Due to the resignation/absence of the 12th Parliament Speaker, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) or a President-nominated person will administer the oath. The Article 148 (2A) states,”If, within three days next after publication through official Gazette of the result of a general election of members of Parliament under clause (3) of article 123, the person specified under the Constitution for the purpose or such other person designated by that person for the purpose, is unable to, or does not, administer oath to the newly elected members of Parliament, on any account, the Chief Election Commissioner shall administer such oath within three days next thereafter, as if, he is the person specified under the Constitution for the purpose.”  

Today marks Pahela Falgun, the first day of spring and the eleventh month of the Bangla calendar, a time that symbolises renewal, vibrancy and cultural pride for Bangladeshis. Spring, often described as the king of seasons, arrives with a message of fullness and new life. For many years, Bangladeshis marked Pahela Falgun on February 13. However, in 2020, Bangla Academy revised the Bangla calendar to align it with the Gregorian calendar, shifting Pahela Falgun to February 14 and effectively coinciding it with Valentine’s Day. Bangladeshis are also celebrate Valentine’s Day with their loved ones, in step with the rest of the world, as a symbol of love and affection. How Falgun and Love collide to create the most colourful day of the year While the inclusion of Pahela Falgun has added a vibrant and festive dimension to the occasion, the day has, for the past few decades, been widely embraced, particularly by young people, as an essential moment for celebration. After the harshness of winter fades, nature adorns itself anew. Fresh leaves sprout on trees, flower buds bloom, birds fill the air with song, and the breeze carries a soft floral fragrance. This revival is felt not only in nature but also in the human spirit, drawing people into celebration and festivity. The tradition of celebrating the Pahela Falgun in Bangladesh started in the Bengali calendar year 1401. Since then, the Jatiya Bawshonto Utsab Udyapan Parishad has been celebrating Pahela Falgun regularly with jovial cultural festivity at the Bakultala of Charukala (Dhaka University Faculty of Fine Art) in the morning. Different organisations including the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) and many other organisations, institutions and businesses will be celebrating this year’s festive February 14 with multiple festivities, Pahela Falgun is celebrated across the country as the Spring Welcome Festival, a tradition first formally organised in 1991 by the Faculty of Fine Arts of University of Dhaka. Since then, the day has grown into a major cultural occasion, with people dressing in shades of yellow and orange, participating in music, poetry and art to welcome spring. The name “Falgun” is believed to have originated from the star Phalguni. Historically, around 1500 BC, both lunar and solar calendars were followed, and Falgun was considered a full-moon month. The organised celebration of Pahela Falgun began more visibly in the 1950s and 1960s, when people in what is now Bangladesh embraced Bengali cultural practices, including Rabindra Sangeet, as a way of distinguishing themselves from imposed Pakistani cultural norms. Beyond its cultural richness, Falgun carries deep political and historical significance. The red hues of shimul and krishnachura flowers recall the sacrifices of the martyrs of February 1952, when Rafiq, Safiq, Barkat and Salam gave their lives for the Bangla language. Their blood-stained path ultimately led to Bangladesh’s independence, making Falgun not only a month of beauty and renewal, but also one of resistance and remembrance. As the country welcomes spring today, Pahela Falgun stands as a celebration of nature, culture and the enduring spirit of the Bengali people.  

Miscreants torched an office of Awami League in Chandpur district town on Friday night. Foyez Ahmed, Officer-in-Charge of Chandpur Model Police Station, said that miscreants set fire to the district unit AL office opposite to  official residence of Chandpur District Judge around 10 pm. Witnesses said black smoke was first seen billowing from the top of the building and the fire broke out at the 2nd floor of the building. On information, a fire-fighting unit rushed to the spot and doused the fire. Police are investigating the incident, said the OC. Vehicular movement on the road remained suspended for around 30 to 40 minutes due to the incident. The district Awami League office was ransacked and torched following August 5, 2024, destroying all contents inside the building.  

Train movement between Chattogram to Chandpur via Laksham was restored after six hours of suspension early Saturday due to an accident at Laksham Junction on Friday night. Station Master of Chandpur Railway Station Shoebur Rahman said five people were injured when ‘Meghna Express’ train with 300 passengers on board hit the other carriages while it was changing the direction at Laksham Junction around 8 pm, causing damage to the engine and the bogie. Train services between Chattogram and Chandpur via Laksham were suspended, causing immense suffering to the passengers. Many passengers had to take buses to reach Chandpur. Later, the train services resumed around 2 am after the removal of  the damaged engine and bogie.  

Two people were killed and three others injured in an explosion while they were allegedly making bombs at Fatapara in Sadar upazila of Chapainawabganj district early Saturday. Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) NM Wasim Firoz said police have preliminarily identified the two victims as Al Amin, 18, son of Moazzem of Dhamar Mor area in Ranihati union under Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila, and Jihad, 17, son of Munirul Islam of Kuthnipara area in Shibganj upazila. “The identification will be finalised later through fingerprint verification,” he added. The bodies were sent to the morgue of Chapainawabganj District Hospital for autopsy. The explosion occurred around 5am at the house of a man named Kalam in Fatapara while a group of people were allegedly making bombs, leaving two dead on the spot and three others injured, said Officer-in-Charge of Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station, Nur-e-Alam. The injured — Bazlur Rahman, 20, Minhaz, 22, and Shubho, 22 — were first taken to Chapainawabganj Sadar Hospital and later shifted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. The condition of two of the injured was stated to be critical, said ASP Wasim Firoz. A portion of the house was damaged in the blast, and the tin roof was blown off. Crude bomb blast, ballot snatched away in Bhola; one held However, no one was arrested in this connection as the house owner, along with his family, managed to flee the scene, the OC said. He added that a bomb disposal unit of the Rapid Action Battalion and a crime scene team of the Criminal Investigation Department arrived from Rajshahi in the afternoon and conducted a search operation at the site. One unexploded cocktail bomb was recovered during the drive.  

Dhaka, the overcrowded capital city of Bangladesh, has ranked fifth on the list of cities with the worst air quality with an AQI index of 194 at 09:09 am today. Dhaka’s air was classified as 'unhealthy', according to the air quality and pollution city ranking. Pakistan’s Lahore, Egypt’s Cairo, India's Delhi and Kolkata occupied the first four spots in the list, with AQI scores of 309, 306, 239 and 199, respectively. Dhaka’s air quality 2nd worst in the world this morning An AQI between 151 and 200 is considered 'unhealthy' while 201-300 is 'very unhealthy' and 301-400 is considered 'hazardous', posing severe health risks to residents.   The AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, informs people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is and what associated health effects might be a concern for them. The AQI in Bangladesh is based on five pollutants: particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and ozone. Dhaka has long been grappling with air pollution issues. Its air quality usually turns unhealthy in winter and improves during the monsoon.        

Mobile Financial Services (MFS) such as bKash, Nagad, and Rocket, along with internet banking platforms, have resumed full operations across Bangladesh starting on Friday. The lifting of restrictions follows 96 hours of limited service aimed at preventing the misuse of funds during the 13th National Parliamentary Election. According to sources at Bangladesh Bank, the temporary limitations were officially withdrawn after midnight on Thursday (February 12). From Friday morning, users have been able to perform transactions without the emergency caps. To maintain the integrity of the national polls, the central bank had implemented strict controls from 12 AM on February 9 until 11:59 PM on February 12. Key restrictions during this period included: - Transaction Limits: Individual peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers were capped at a maximum of Tk1,000 per transaction. Frequency Caps: Users were limited to a maximum of 10 transactions per day. Bangladesh Polls: BB imposes 96-hour freeze on NPSB internet banking Internet Banking: P2P fund transfers via banking apps and internet portals were largely suspended for the duration. The central bank's directive was part of a broader effort to curb illegal financial influence on voters. With the election period concluding, financial institutions have been instructed to monitor for any abnormal transaction patterns as services return to their standard high-volume limits.  

Dhaka remained unusually calm and largely empty a day after the national election, as a holiday mood continued to grip the capital. Major thoroughfares and flyovers that are typically choked with traffic wore a deserted look, with only a handful of vehicles seen plying the roads.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday dismissed allegations of manipulation over voter turnout percentages released during the balloting process, saying such variations are natural as results from thousands of polling centres arrive at different times. "There were debates over the voter turnout percentage in the past (elections) as well. Please don’t question it now,” he said at a post-election briefing at 10pm on Thursday night. The CEC, however, didn’t release the overall voter turnout percentage at the briefing.  Addressing concerns raised over changes in reported vote percentages, he said questions often emerge immediately after results start coming in, with some people pointing out that the turnout or counting percentage stood at 8 percent at one point and rose to 20 percent a few hours later. Explaining the procedure, the CEC said results from more than 42,000 polling centres are received gradually and added cumulatively as they arrive at the Election Commission. “When results come from such a large number of centres at different times, there will naturally be variations in the overall percentage,” he said, adding that this does not indicate any irregularity. The CEC categorically denied any manipulation or hidden motive behind the changing figures. “There is no game of manipulation here and no other intention,” he said. “We are simply doing addition and calculation and announcing the cumulative results accordingly.” He also clarified that the Election Commission itself is not issuing any independent or unilateral results. “We do not want to give any ‘official’ result of our own,” the CEC said. According to him, the only results considered in the counting process are those sent directly from the field by the returning officers, duly signed and authenticated by them. “The results that the returning officers send from the field with their signatures are the ones we include in our calculation,” he said, stressing that the process is entirely transparent and based on official documentation from the grassroots level. The clarification comes amid ongoing public discussion and scrutiny over the pace and pattern of result updates as vote counting continues across the country. Earlier in the afternoon, EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said some 47.91 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots by 2pm at 36,031 out of 42,651 polling centres across the country. He said the commission has yet to receive turnout data from 6,620 centres, he told reporters at the EC secretariat in the afternoon. The referendum and the 13th parliamentary election were held simultaneously from 7:30am to 4:30pm on Thursday in a festive and peaceful atmosphere in 299 out of 300 constituencies across the country.

Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus on Thursday expressed optimism about Bangladesh’s future, describing the atmosphere surrounding the twin elections as festive and historic, saying it feels like Eid as the nation embarks on building a new Bangladesh. “It is like Eid....fantastic. A big future is coming up (lies ahead of us). We are creating a new Bangladesh,” Prof Yunus said, terming the national election and referendum a historic opportunity to reshape the country’s destiny. Casting his ballot, he said the moment marked one of the greatest joys of his life and symbolised a decisive break from the past. “Today, a new Bangladesh is born,” he said. At every step, Prof Yunus said, they have the opportunity to build a new Bangladesh. "Let us celebrate the birthday of Bangladesh today. Let the whole nation celebrate this festival throughout the day.” The Chief Adviser cast his vote at the Gulshan Model School and College polling centre in the capital. “It is a day of immense happiness in my life. It is also a day of great joy and liberation for the people of Bangladesh,” he added. Referring to the ongoing electoral process, Prof Yunus said it signifies the end of the past and the beginning of a renewed national framework grounded in hope and reform. He said people across the country are observing the day in a celebratory mood, embracing it as a national festival. After casting his vote, the Chief Adviser visited Badda High School polling centre and another centre in Mirpur to inspect the election environment. During the visits, he spoke with voters and election officials. ‘Today, a new Bangladesh is born,’ Prof Adviser Yunus Prof Yunus also monitored the nationwide voting situation from the control room at Police Headquarters. Home Affairs Adviser Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Baharul Alam were present. Later, he observed the overall voting situation from the temporary observation room set up at the State Guest House Jamuna.