Bangladesh

Bangladesh is voting today in its 13th parliamentary election, being held simultaneously with a referendum on the July National Charter, with renewed hope, anticipation, and a profound belief that the vote could mark the beginning of democratic renewal after years of political erosion. Polling for the much-anticipated election began at 7:30am on Thursday and will continue uninterrupted until 4:30pm across ...

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Chairman Tarique Rahman, widely regarded as the potential contender for the next premiership, has said that his government will face immense challenges if voted to power, and pledges to rebuild the country after its resources were plundered by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina on a massive scale. If victorious on Thursday (12 February), the leader of ...

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has claimed that the money seized from Thakurgaon district Ameer Belal Uddin is his personal business fund, dismissing reports surrounding his detention as “misleading propaganda.” Advocate Ehsanul Mahbub Zubair, the party’s central publicity and media secretary, made the statement to the media on Wednesday. Earlier, law enforcement agencies detained Belal Uddin at Syedpur Airport with a large amount ...

A high-level Japanese election observer delegation, led by Japan’s ambassador and mission chief Masato Watanabe, held a courtesy meeting with Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman at the Bashundhara office on Thursday morning. The meeting took place at 9am in a cordial and friendly atmosphere. During the discussions, both sides emphasised the mission’s goal of monitoring whether Bangladesh’s general elections are ...

A total of 481,185 expatriate ballots cast via the “Postal Vote BD” mobile app for the 13th National Parliamentary Election and the Referendum 2026 have so far arrived in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, 515,619 overseas voters have already completed their voting. Salim Ahmad Khan, Team Leader of the ‘OCV-SDI’ project on expatriate voter registration, confirmed on Wednesday (11 February) that, 766,862 ballots ...

A delegation of Commonwealth observers paid a courtesy call on Chief of Army Staff General Waker-Uz-Zaman. The meeting took place on Tuesday at the Army Headquarters, led by former President of Ghana, William Nana Akufo-Addo. The information was shared last night on the verified Facebook page of the Bangladesh Army. During the meeting, in addition to exchanging greetings, discussions were ...

A government election observer mission from Japan has arrived in Bangladesh to observe and support the fair conduct of the country’s upcoming general election scheduled for 12 February. The delegation, led by Masato Watanabe, former Japanese ambassador to Bangladesh, is visiting the country from 10 to 13 February as part of Japan’s support for Bangladesh’s democratic process, the Japanese Embassy ...

Chief Adviser (CA) Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday expressed his profound hope that voting day, February 12, will mark the “birthday of a New Bangladesh,” stating that the historic vote would usher in a new democratic era grounded in reform, accountability, and people’s participation. In a stirring address to the nation on the eve of historic 13th National Parliamentary Election ...

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi was admitted to Square Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday due to health concerns. Rizvi’s personal assistant, Arifur Rahman Tushar, said the BNP leader was taken to the hospital around 3:00 PM after experiencing breathing difficulties. He added that Rizvi had been suffering from fever, cold and respiratory issues for several days. ...

The interim government on Tuesday published the wealth statements of all the advisers, including Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus, officials with equivalent ranks, and their spouses. The Cabinet Division issued a notification in this regard. The notification discloses the wealth of the concerned officials and their spouses for the period between 30 June 2024 to 30 June 2025, in accordance ...