Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee

April 9, 1971. Amzad Ali Khondaker was moving a trunk out of the Secretariat building that housed the then office of Department of Films and Publications.

Leave it to luck or wisdom or anything open to interpretations, the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation has seen its nominated candidate picked to lead the Election Commission for the second time in a row.

“Joy Bangla”, the strongest slogan during the Liberation War and also during the struggle for the country’s independence, is set to become the national slogan of Bangladesh.

Five years ago, the Bangladesh Tariqat Federation attracted public attention after the formation of the Election Commission because CEC KM Nurul Huda and election commissioners Rafiqul Islam and Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury were appointed as per recommendations made by the party.

A recent government directive authorising deputy commissioners to monitor and evaluate development projects at the district level has caused an uproar among officials of project implementing agencies.

Awami League presidium members yesterday gave party chief Sheikh Hasina their recommendations of individuals who would form the next Election Commission.  

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has drafted a regulation to clamp down on what it deems the ugly side of social media and streaming services.

One could say that the Awami League government deserves plaudits for passing a law on the formation of Election Commission—even if it is 50 years too late to fulfil a constitutional obligation.

 It took almost 50 years to initiate a move to have a law on forming the Election Commission, and a bill to that end was passed in parliament in only about 180 minutes yesterday, amid protests from the opposition lawmakers.

The ongoing parliament session is set to pass a law aiming to give legal cover to the chief election commissioners and other commissioners appointed through search committees in the past.

Nearly 50 years after the constitution prescribed enacting a specific law for forming Election Commission, the government has finally approved the draft of a law to appoint the chief election commissioner and other commissioners through a search committee.

The ruling Awami League is reorganising itself to be in a stronger position ahead of the next parliamentary polls and weighing options for expanding its electoral alliance.

After a somewhat uneventful period amid the pandemic, politics began heating up in the latter part of 2021 over the Union Parishad polls and the formation of the Election Commission.

Awami League candidates in Faridpur have never faced defeats as comprehensive as the ones they suffered in the fourth phase of union parishad polls held on Sunday.

The demand for framing a specific law on reconstitution of the Election Commission is growing louder as all nine political parties invited to the president’s dialogue so far are of the opinion that a law is required to form a non-controversial EC.

Ousted from the Awami League, Gazipur Mayor Mohammad Zahangir Alam is now set to face legal action by the ruling party and is on the verge of losing his mayorship for making controversial remarks on Bangabandhu and the Liberation War.

All e-commerce companies will soon have to come under one digital platform monitored by multiple state agencies, as the government looks to increase oversight on the sector that has become a hotbed for irregularities in recent months.

The numbers of candidates set to be elected unopposed and rebels from the ruling Awami League in the third phase of union parishad polls are higher than in the first two phases.   

The ongoing union parishad polls show just how desperate the grassroots Awami League leaders are to go to power or cling to it at the lowest tier of the local government.

The wars of the 21st century will be fought over water, the former World Bank Vice-President Ismail Serageldin had predicted in 1995. And a recent visit to the Chattogram Hill Tracts suggests the region is inching that way.