The 12th parliamentary elections are only about six months away. But the two largest political parties – the ruling Awami League and opposition BNP – stick to their guns on one crucial matter.

While both the parties said they had never “complained” to the foreigners and blamed each other for tarnishing the image of the country, it was evident that the whole point of holding the rallies was to play to the proverbial gallery

How should we view these elections in light of the upcoming national elections?

Both the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP are out to get one religion-based party as an electoral ally, a gain which may help boost the vote bank ahead of the next general polls.

After around three decades, if we look back at that fateful by-election of Magura, we would realise that the situation has not changed much.

There was a lot of interest in US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Donald Lu's visit to Dhaka. Before leaving early yesterday, he held a series of meetings with the top ministers, labour rights, and civil society leaders. What were the discussions and outcomes? Lu shared with Porimol Palma in detail.

The BNP wants to make a final push to realise its demand for holding the next general election under a neutral caretaker administration only after the top brass finds the party’s Dhaka city units fully prepared for an all-out movement.

The Awami League envisions a “Smart Bangladesh” by 2041, seeking to build a country that would be cost-effective, sustainable, innovative and knowledge-based.

To avoid confrontation, both AL and BNP must come to a consensus.

A consensus among political parties is essential for holding a good election.

Awami League's decision to not compete for two of the recently vacated seats, rather letting its allies vie for them, is aimed at strengthening its relations with partners ahead of the 12th national election, slated for January 2024.

Political activities of the ruling Awami League in 2022 began slowly, after a quiet pandemic, and gathered significant momentum towards the end of the year.

The year 2022 marked a major turnaround for the BNP as the party seemed to have overcome the organisational weaknesses and political inertia that had been plaguing it since the disappointing results of the 2018 national polls.

Prime minister's stance on "external pressure"

Soon after the DMP gave permission to BNP to hold its December 10 rally at Suhrawardy Udyan, the party said it will stage the programme in front of the Nayapaltan office.

Bangladesh will miss the opportunity to hold a free and fair election if opposition parties do not participate in the polls, said Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan.

The BNP has finalised the draft of a nine-point demand, aiming to wage a “simultaneous movement” with different opposition parties and platforms to force the government to step down and pave the way for a free and fair election.

Bangladesh Khelafat Andolan has demanded abolition of reserved women’s seats in the parliament, in the upcoming national election.

The Election Commission of Bangladesh has been mired in controversies over the last decade.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal said if he had been made the CEC of New Zealand or Britain, he could have finished the election by sitting on a chair sipping tea.