United News of Bangladesh

Local Government and Rural Development Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Tuesday said the Election Commission has already started preparations to hold the local government elections in a free and neutral manner. “In order to arrange the next local government polls in a free, fair and impartial manner, the Election Commission has already started necessary preparations,” Fakhrul, also the Minister in charge of the Election Commission (EC) Secretariat in Parliament, told Parliament, replying to a starred question from treasury bench member Sheikh Md Rejaul Islam (Naogaon-6). Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal tabled the question-answer session at the outset of the day’s business of the House. Fakhrul said the EC has undertaken the necessary preparations to ensure that a credible and participatory local government election is held within the stipulated timeframe. Replying to a question from NCP lawmaker Abul Hasnat, popularly known as Hasnat Abdullah (Cumilla-4), the minister said the EC  introduced, for the first time, an IT-supported postal ballot registration system to facilitate voting by Bangladeshis living abroad. He said the initiative will continue in the next national election and that the Election Commission is working to bring the maximum number of expatriate Bangladeshis under the postal balloting system to ensure their voting rights. In response to a question from opposition Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Abdul Karim (Gaibandha-2) Fakhrul Islam said right now the government has no plan to increase the salaries and allowances of union parishad chairmen and members.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday said the Election Commission (EC) wants to conduct ‘bloodshed-free’ local government elections in a fair manner and urged all stakeholders to work together to build national unity in this regard. “We want a bloodshed-free local government election and will conduct it in a nice manner,” he said while addressing an event organised by the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) in a hotel in the city. The CEC called upon all the stakeholders to make efforts for making the nation united in this regard. He said the EC would launch a full-scale awareness campaign with the cooperation from development partners and would hold discussion with stakeholders. “We want to mobilise all and make them united so that we can give a fair local government election avoiding such conflicts (violence),” said Nasir Uddin. About the vote counting process during the February-12 general election, he said the election results of every constituency, even every polling station-wise result are still in the EC’s website and anyone can examine if there is discrepancy in the polls results. “You can see whether there is any discrepancy in the polling station-wise results,” said Nasir Uddin. According to the EC, preparations are underway to hold elections to 4,581 Union Parishads, 61 Zila Parishads, 495 Upazila Parishads, 330 municipalities, and 13 city corporations. As part of the preparation, the EC is now updating the electoral code of conduct in line with laws about city corporations, municipalities, zila parishads, upazila parishads and union parishads. The EC would conduct the elections to the local government bodies on request from the Local Government Division. State Minister for LGRD Mir Shahe Alam has recently said the phased local government elections are likely to start after the monsoon season, beginning in September or October this year.

The United Nations Women on Sunday expressed concern with the Election Commission (EC) over the low participation of women in the 13th parliamentary election held on February 12 last. The issue came up during a meeting between a delegation of UN Women, led by its Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, and Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin in the city’s Nirbachan Bhaban. “They shared some experiences regarding the recently held election and also wanted to know from us how women’s participation in elections could be increased,” EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed told reporters after the meeting. He said the EC also informed that seven women won the election through direct votes but there were many other women candidates in the polls. The issue of women participation depends on the availability of winnable female candidates, he added. The EC Secretary said the total number of women lawmakers has finally stood at 57 including 50 females elected from reserved seats. “We expect the women’s representation to be higher in local government elections,” he added. About the gender gap in voter registration, Akhtar Ahmed said the difference between male and female voters in the electoral rolls had previously stood at around three million, but it has been reduced to 1.8 million now. “We are continuing efforts to reduce this gap further,” said the EC Secretary. The EC also informed the UN Women delegation that the latest parliamentary election was conducted without violence and no incidents of ballot box snatching were reported, he said. The delegation members include Christine Arab, Regional Director, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Gitanjali Singh, Representative, UN Women Bangladesh; and Navanita Sinha, Deputy Representative, UN Women Bangladesh.

Expatriate voters showed little interest in exercising their franchise in the recent elections as only four expatriates voted in Bogura-6 by-polls and Sherpur-3 election, with only four ballots received from abroad. Only three expatriates voted in Bogura-6 by-election, while one expatriate in Sherpur-3 election, both held on April 9 -- two months after the 13th general election. “The Bogura-6 by-polls returning officer received three ballots from the expatriates, while the Sherpur-3 election returning officer received one ballots from them,” said Brigadier General Saleem Ahmad Khan, team lead of EC’s Out of Country Voting (OCV) System Development and Implementation initiative on Sunday. Besides, 1,065 domestic voters voted in Bogura-6, while 2,018 other domestic voters in Sherpur-3 under the In-Country Postal Voting (ICPV). A total of 7,309 voters -- 5,645 in-country ones and 1,664 expatriates -- earlier registered to vote through postal ballots in these two constituencies. Postal voting in these two constituencies began on March 30 and ended at 4.30pm on April 9. The current Election Commission, headed by Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, introduced an IT-supported hybrid postal voting system -- in combination of online registration and manual postal ballot papers – in the 13th general election held on February 12 last. A total of 15,28,131 voters --767,233 expatriates and 760,898 government officials, election officials, Ansar and VDP members and prisoners—registered to vote through the postal ballots under OCV and ICPV programmes in the 13th national election. Of them, the returning officers finally received 11,65,593 returned postal ballots – 498,205 from abroad and 667,388 from in-country – in the election held in 299 out of 300 constituencies (except Sherpur-3) throughout the country.

The April 9 by-elections in Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 were generally peaceful and orderly while there were several procedural and administrative shortcomings, according to Alliance for Fair Election and Democracy (AFED), a platform of 30 civil society organisations supported by the European Union. “We observed a largely calm environment where voters were able to participate,” said AFED spokesperson Harun-Or-Rashid at a press conference. “At the same time, there are areas that require improvement to strengthen public confidence in the electoral process,” he said. While polling largely began on time and ballot secrecy was maintained, AFED reported that 32 percent of polling stations were not accessible to persons with disabilities. Observers also found inconsistencies in voter identification procedures in 12 percent of polling stations. Besides, indications of proxy voting were reported in 11 percent of observed centres. Voter turnout was significantly lower compared to the February 12 national elections, it said. AFED recorded moderate turnout in 64 percent of polling stations and low turnout in 31 percent. AFED’s observation of postal voting, including a pilot initiative for out-of-country voting (OCV), found the counting process to be transparent but participation to be low. In Bogura-6, only 1,068 of 3,736 issued postal ballots were returned, with many rejected due to procedural errors such as missing declaration forms. Observers recorded six notable incidents during polling. The most serious occurred at Shreebordi Islamia Kamil Madrasa centre in Sherpur-3, where clashes between rival supporters left five people injured. Based on reports from 53 observers deployed across 103 polling centres, AFED recommended strengthening training for polling officials to ensure strict adherence to procedures, ensuring full accessibility for voters with disabilities at all polling stations, enforcing campaign silence rules more strictly, expanding eligibility for postal voting to include observers, media personnel, and homebound voters Among those present at the press conference were Taleya Rehman, Chairperson of Democracywatch and AFED board member; Binoy Krishna Mollick, Executive Director of Right Jessore; AH M Nouman, Chairperson of DORP; and Md Harun-Or-Rashid, AFED Member Secretary.

BNP candidates have won by landslide in the Bogura-6 by-election and Sherpur-3 election held on Thursday. In the Bogura-6 by-election, occasioned by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's abdication in favour of his other seat at Dhaka-17, BNP’s Md. Rezaul Karim Badsha, contesting under the “Sheaf of Paddy” symbol, secured 1,33,931 votes, while his nearest rival, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Md. Abidur Rahman Darpala, received 57,159 votes. Bangladesh Development Party (BDP) candidate Al Amin Talukder got 526 votes. Out of 4,54,043 registered voters, 1,93,326 cast their ballots, marking a turnout of 42.58 percent. Returning Officer Md. Fazlul Karim announced the result at around 9pm Thursday. BNP leaders congratulated Badsha and presented him with floral tributes. While, Jamaat-e-Islami raised allegations of irregularities, including assault on polling agents, center occupation, ballot manipulation, and attempts to falsify results. In Sherpur-3, BNP’s Md. Mahmudul Haque Rubel, also contesting under the “Sheaf of Paddy,” won with 1,66,117 votes. His nearest competitor, Jamaat-e-Islami’s Md. Masudur Rahman contesting with the Dari Palla symbol, received 47,051 votes, while BASAD’s Md. Mizanur Rahman polled 480 votes. Returning Officer and District Election Officer Md. Jahangir Alam announced the unofficial result at around the same time from the district control room. Earlier, polling in both parliamentary seats started at 7:30 am and continued until 4:30 pm without any break. On February 24 last, the EC announced the election schedule for the two constituencies. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman contested the February-12 general election from two parliamentary constituencies – Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17 and he was elected from both seats. But Tarique Rahman vacated Bogura-6 and kept Dhaka-17. Besides, the EC on February 4 last cancelled the election to Sherpur-3 constituency, following the death of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal.

The Election Commission (EC) has directed the returning officers of Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 constituencies to submit reports after examining allegations raised by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami over irregularities in the by-elections to the two parliamentary seats. “We have started investigating. I have already asked for the report from our respective officers,” said EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Thursday afternoon, while replying to a question from reporters at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city’s Agargaon area.  When asked about Jamaat’s decision to boycott the Sherpur-3 election, he said, “They have boycotted the election—why they did so is a question for them. We arranged the election; we did not ask anyone to boycott it,” he added. Referring to reports of the boycott over alleged fake voting shortly before the end of polling, the EC secretary said he heard that around 3:45 pm that they boycotted citing fake votes. “Voting went on throughout the day, and then 20 minutes before the end such allegation—this is their political matter,” he said, adding that he doesn’t have any comment on it. “However, I have asked my officials to submit reports. The results must also be announced without delay,” he added. Earlier in the day, Jamaat Secretary General Mia Golam Parwar, at a press conference in the capital’s Moghbazar area, alleged serious irregularities during voting in the Bogura-6 and Sherpur-3 by-elections. He alleged that presiding officers collected signatures from agents on result sheets even before voting began in some polling stations, violating election rules. Meanwhile, Jamaat-nominated candidate Masudur Rahman announced a boycott of the Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi-Zhenaigati) election around 3:00 pm, alleging that a fair election was not possible. Earlier in the morning, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said the EC was committed to ensuring elections of international standards. “We want to demonstrate what is understood globally as a standard election. We are using everything from drones to scientific monitoring systems,” he said after overseeing the voting virtually from the EC’s law and order coordination cell in the Nirbachan Bhaban. The CEC said extensive measures had been taken to ensure smooth and peaceful balloting, similar to the recently held 13th parliamentary election. On February 24 last, the EC announced the election schedule for the two parliamentary seats. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman contested the February-12 general election from two parliamentary constituencies – Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17 and he was elected from the two seats. But Tarique Rahman has left Bogura-6 seat for by-election and took oath as a member of parliament from Dhaka-17 constituency. Besides, the EC on February 04 last cancelled the election to Sherpur-3 constituency, following the death of Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal. The elections to 299 out of the country’s 300 constituencies (except Sherpur-3) were held on February 12. The EC published a gazette of 297 elected MP candidates on February 12, keeping the election result of Chattogram-2 and 4 constituencies withheld in line with the court’s decisions. On Tuesday, 296 newly elected MPs took oath as Tarique Rahman who was elected from two constituencies left Bogura-6 for by-election to remain the member of parliament from Dhaka-17. The 296 newly MPs include 208 BNP ones, 68 Jamaat MPs, seven independent MPs and six NCP MPs, two Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis MPs, one MP each of Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP, Ganaodhikar Parishad, Ganasamhati Andolan, Khelafat Majlish and Islami Andolan Bangladesh.

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday announced the election schedule for the women’s reserved seats of the 13th parliament, setting May 12 as the date for 'voting'. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed declared the election schedule for the 50 reserved seats at a press briefing at Nirbachan Bhaban. Although nominally 'elected', the elections to these 50 seats in Parliament are held indirectly, based on the proportional representation of political parties in the 300 directly elected general seats. Following the general election, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their share of the total seats. The number of seats for each party is determined by multiplying the number of seats won by 50 and dividing by 300. Based on that calculation, the EC secretary said the BNP and its alliance will get 36 seats (having won 212 seats) , while the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and its alliance partners will get 13 seats (having won 77 seats) and the group of six independent MPs will get the remaining one seat. Parties nominate women for their allocated slots, and they are officially elected as a formality by the directly elected MPs - that essentially is the process that will take place on May 12. According to the schedule, the deadline for submission of nomination papers is April 21, which must be submitted to the EC Secretariat. The nomination papers will be scrutinized on April 22 and 23. The last date for filing appeals against the acceptance and rejection of nomination papers by the returning officer is April 26, while disposal of appeals will be held on April 27 and 28. The deadline for withdrawal of candidature is April 29, and election symbols will be allocated on April 30. The 'voting' by the MPs will be held on May 12. The MPs are supposed to cast votes to elect MPs to the reserved seats, if there is more than one candidate against any seat. But they usually don’t need to cast those votes as the parties don’t field more candidates than their allocated seats. Akhtar Ahmed said the six independent candidates have formed a group to field a candidate for one seat. Meanwhile, Islami Andolon Bangladesh and independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana will not join any alliance. In the 13th parliamentary election held on February 12, 2026, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party secured 209 seats. Its allies — Gono Odhikar Parishad, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) and Ganosamhati Andolon — won one seat each. On the other hand, Jamaat-e-Islami, winning 68 seats, represents the opposition. Its allies—NCP won six seats, Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish two seats, and Khelafat Majlish one seat. Outside the two alliances, Islami Andolan Bangladesh won one seat, and seven candidates were elected as independents. According to the law, the EC must hold elections for the reserved women seats within 90 days of an election being gazetted, which in this case happened on February 13, the day after the general election.

Election to Sherpur-3 and by-election to Bogura-6 are set to be held on Thursday as the Election Commission (EC) has completed all necessary preparations to hold voting in a free and fair manner. EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Wednesday, at a press briefing at the Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital, expressed hope that all concerned, including the media, will continue their cooperation to the EC to maintain the standards, which were set for national-level elections, during the polls in the two constituencies. On February 24 last, the EC announced the election schedule for the two parliamentary seats. The deadline for submission of nomination papers was March 2, while the scrutiny date of the nomination papers was March 5 and the last date for withdrawal of candidates was March 14. BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman contested the February-12 general election from two parliamentary constituencies – Bogura-6 and Dhaka-17 and he was elected from both seats. But Tarique Rahman vacated Bogura-6 and kept Dhaka-17. Besides, the EC on February 4 last cancelled the election to Sherpur-3 constituency, following the death of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal. The elections to 299 out of the country’s 300 constituencies (except Sherpur-3) were held on February 12. The EC published a gazette of 297 elected MP candidates on February 12, keeping the election result of Chattogram-2 and 4 constituencies withheld in line with the court’s decisions.

Ahead of the election in Sherpur-3 (Sreebardi-Jhenaigati) constituency scheduled for April 9, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has deployed its 16 platoons to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful voting process. Following directives from the Election Commission, BGB personnel will serve as mobile and static forces from five days before the election to two days after the polls to maintain law and order. According to a press release issued by the BGB Mymensingh Battalion (39 BGB), under the supervision of the Mymensingh sector, the deployed platoons have established four base camps across Sreebardi and Jhenaigati upazilas to carry out their duties. Given that Sherpur-3 is a bordering constituency, the BGB presence has been strengthened, with personnel on the frontier also providing support to election areas as needed. The Sherpur-3 election, originally scheduled for February 12, was postponed following the death of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Nuruzzaman Badal. As per the revised schedule, voting will be held on April 9.