Category: ইংরেজি লেখাসমুহ

Reforms are crucial to strengthen the Election Commission

Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of SHUJAN: Citizens for Good Governance, speaks with Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star about the changes needed in our electoral system and related laws before the next…

Killings and repression must stop

ON JUNE 5, a High Court bench declared illegal a government circular issued in 2018, which abolished the 30 per cent quota for the dependents of the freedom…

Election ‘at any cost’, but at what price?

‘price’ to pay for the forthcoming one-sided election will be the end to our multiparty democratic system. Democracy means multiparty democracy, where the people can freely apply their…

The Election Commission’s credibility problem

Recently, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal frankly admitted that the Election Commission (EC) was facing a credibility problem. He attributed this problem to the controversial 2014…

How constitutional is the 15th amendment?

In 1996, the BNP-led government passed the 13th Amendment to the constitution, allowing the formation of the neutral caretaker government (NCG). The amendment represented a “political settlement” as…

What we can do to ensure the right to vote

According to constitutional compulsions, the 12th national parliament election must be held within 29 January next year. The ruling Awami League is determined to hold the election within…

Reforms that are needed for a free election

Election is a process, not a one-day affair. For an election to be credible every step in this process must be accurate, which in turn depends on certain…

In which direction is Bangladesh heading?

With the 12th parliamentary election only months away, the most common question that people are asking is: will the election be free and fair? As an activist, I…

Does president hold office of profit?

THE Awami League has recently nominated former commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission Md Shahabuddin to the position of president to replace the outgoing president Abdul Hamid. Since Md…

Politics in tough times, multidimensional risks ahead

It was the ‘declaration of independence’ on 17 April 1971 that gave us the strength, courage and inspiration to achieve independence for Bangladesh through a war of liberation,…

Steer Bangladesh towards peaceful solutions

The events that have unfolded in our political landscape over the past few weeks – the debate regarding the venue of BNP’s Dhaka rally, the clash between police…

Economic and political reforms must go hand in hand

A couple of weeks ago, our prime minister talked about protecting Bangladesh from a possible famine in the coming days. More recently, her power and mineral resources adviser…

Dire lessons from the Cumilla City Corporation election

The just completed Cumilla City Corporation election was a “test case” for the newly formed Awal Commission. The EC deployed a large number of magistrates and law enforcement…

What the EC should do to dispel the crisis in confidence

The last two election commissions, particularly the Nurul Huda commission, have destroyed our election system and robbed us of our voting rights, with a naked display of their…

Difficult to be optimistic about the new Election Commission

Apparently the strategy by which the ruling party managed to appoint their pre-selected persons to the election commission in 2017, was more or less repeated this time A…

The maladies that poisoned the UP elections

The elections of 1,198 union parishads (UPs) were held in two phases. We have noticed five notable features in these elections. First, the main opposition party BNP boycotted…

How should the law to appoint the election commission be?

According to Article 118 (1) of Bangladesh’s constitution, “There shall be an Election Commission for Bangladesh consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and not more than four Election…

Communal violence and thoughts of leadership at the grassroots

Just as political parties are an indispensable part of a functioning democratic system, it is equally indispensable for these political parties to have engagement with each other. Basically,…

Whose committee will this search committee actually be?

Interview: Badiul Alam Majumdar The tenure of the present election commission ends on 14 February. As there is still no law in this regard, once again the commission…

Budget ignores the interests of the common people

My former classmate, now the finance minister, presented in the Parliament the budget for the year (also the golden anniversary of our independence), and I congratulate him for…

How do we break the chain of coronavirus infection?

Despite the claims made a few months ago that Bangladesh has successfully—more successfully than many western countries—beat back the coronavirus, the virus has returned with a vengeance. In…

Who is ahead in electoral politics?

So far, ten parliamentary elections were held in Bangladesh, of which three—the 1988 election during the Ershad regime, the February 15, 1996 election under the BNP government, and…

Relevant laws for candidates running for Parliament

The 11th Parliamentary election is at our doorstep. The election schedule is expected to be declared at the beginning of November and the election to be held at…

A ‘National Charter’ to strengthen democracy

The recent “student agitation” not only demanded safe roads, but also raised our awareness regarding our state structure, characterised by corruption, repression and injustice. A weak state structure…

Why facing the voters is important for democracy

The year 2018 is one of elections. A total of five city corporation elections are to be held this year, of which elections in Khulna and Gazipur have…

As Gazipur and Khulna polls near, some concerns remain

Bangladesh is now on the election highway. Aside from the national election, seven city corporation elections are to be held this year. However, because of the ineptness of…

16TH AMENDMENT VERDICT: Have the critics read the judgment?

The story of the hawk snatching one’s ears is well-known. As the story goes, the “victim” becomes so paranoid by a rumour that s/he does not even check…

ELECTION 2018: Will the EC live up to its mandate?

The Election Commission (EC) held a post-dialogue press briefing on October 26. At the briefing, the Chief Election Commissioner said that the commission must conduct elections in accordance…

EC must work to gain credibility among citizens

We commend the Election Commission for initiating dialogues with the stakeholders although it is not legally obliged to do so. We hope that the dialogues are not held…

Can the CEC take unilateral decisions?

On July 16, 2017, the Election Commission (EC) arranged a news conference to announce its electoral roadmap. According to a Prothom Alo report (July 17, 2017), when asked…

Can Bangladesh repeat its ‘development surprise’?

In the era (2000-2015) of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Bangladesh had achieved outstanding success in both poverty eradication and human development. Bangladesh’s success in both economic and…