Partha Pratim Bhattacharjee

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.

The Razakar Bahini was a paramilitary force created by the Pakistan Army with local collaborators during the Liberation War in 1971.

Repeated show-cause notices, warnings of punitive actions and even expulsions from the organisation have failed to deter Awami League leaders from participating in the local government polls without the party tickets.

Annoyed at the Gazipur City Corporation mayor’s controversial comments on Bangabandhu and Liberation War martyrs, top Awami League leaders have recommended taking action against Mohammad Zahangir Alam.

Around eight years ago, the government established passport and visa wings at different Bangladesh missions to provide better services to expatriates and visitors.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman devoted his life to making one dream come true: establish a democratic, peaceful and disparity-free society called “Sonar Bangla”. Braving myriad hurdles, he was striving to take the nation to that promised land.

The ruling Awami League finds itself in a strange predicament over local body polls.

In an ominous sign for democracy, the practice of a candidate being elected unopposed has gripped the parliamentary by-polls as well as local body polls.