United News of Bangladesh

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin on Monday said that they seek cooperation from the media to ensure a level playing field for all during the national election. “We are committed to the nation for a credible election. This dialogue is not a ceremonial one; we want to move forward with your (media) valuable advice. We seek your cooperation in ensuring a level playing field,” he said. The Election Commission (EC) on Monday began a series of dialogues with editors, senior journalists, and news executives from print, television and online media, seeking their cooperation in creating a fair environment ahead of the next polls. The dialogue, held at Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon, was chaired by CEC Nasir Uddin, with four election commissioners and senior officials in attendance. During the opening discussion, the CEC said the commission is committed to holding a free, fair and peaceful election, describing the dialogue as a sincere effort to gather meaningful advice rather than a formality. He acknowledged that ensuring equal opportunities for all contestants is not possible for the EC alone. Rather it requires cooperation from the media, law enforcement agencies, political parties, candidates, voters and the public. He laid emphasis on the role of the media in tackling misinformation and disinformation during the electoral process. Highlighting the EC’s progress since taking office in November, the CEC said several significant reforms and technical updates have been completed to ensure transparency and credibility. He noted that the voter list update has been finalised, removing over 21 lakh deceased voters and adding more than 43 lakh new voters. “The gender gap in voter numbers has also narrowed—from around 30 lakh to 18 lakh—as more women have been enrolled. We have successfully reengaged women who had lost interest in voting,” the CEC said. To expand voting accessibility, Nasir announced that an IT-supported postal ballot system is being introduced for Bangladeshi expatriates, describing it as a hybrid model. Postal voting will also be available for law enforcement members, polling officials and detainees under lawful custody. “We have nothing to hide. We want to show the nation and the world a transparent election—clear as a mirror. For that, we need the media’s assistance. We’ll soon launch voter awareness programs across the country,” the CEC said. Representatives from leading television channels participated in the first round of discussions, including Shafik Ahmed (Ekattor TV), Ziaul Kabir Suman (Boishakhi TV), Touhidul Islam (Jamuna TV), Mostafa Akmal (Independent TV), Ferdous Mamun (Global TV), Jahid Newaz Khan (Channel i), Loton Ekram (DBC News), Shahidul Azam (ATN News), Mahmud Hasan (Green TV), Gausul Azam Bipu (GTV), SM Akash (Deepto TV), Zohurul Islam Jony (Somoy TV), Shariful Islam Khan (News24), Niaz Morshed (Maasranga TV), Zainal Abedin (Ananda TV), Ikramul Haq Sayem (ATN Bangla) and Monir Islam (BTV). The ongoing series of dialogues began on September 28 with civil society representatives and academics. The discussions will continue for one to one-and-a-half months, with upcoming sessions scheduled with registered political parties later this month. According to EC sources, the poll schedule is expected to be announced in early December, with the election likely to be held in the first half of February, before Ramadan begins.

Hasnat Abdullah, chief organizer of the southern region of the National Citizens Party (NCP), has said that a level playing field must be established before the upcoming national elections. Hasnat made the remarks during a visit to Cumilla's Debidwar, where he met with families of the July martyrs on Eid-ul-Azha.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged Japanese business leaders to come to Bangladesh for exploring the potentials of business and investment opportunities that are waiting for them. “We shall keep on improving the business environment and ensure a level playing field for you all to do businesses in Bangladesh,” she said. The prime minister made the appeal while interacting with the selected Japanese business leaders (CEOs) at Hotel Westin here. She said that even under the duress of Covid-19 pandemic, the bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Japan continued to grow significantly and crossed USD 4 billion milestone for the first-time during the Fiscal Year 2021-22. “The number of Japanese companies operating in Bangladesh has gone up steadily in the last few years especially since 2014 when we entered into our ‘comprehensive partnership’, and Japan’s commitment under the Big-B initiative,” she said. Hasina said she is sure that Japanese businesspeople are also following this increasing trend, and would be positively inclined to either expanding their existing businesses, or opening new ones in Bangladesh. “I want to assure you that my government and all relevant agencies are keen to help you and our other friends from Japan in business endeavours in Bangladesh,” she said. Seeing the exemplary outcome of the two countries’ bilateral relations in the last five decades, Bangladesh’s expectation is for a larger footprint of Japan in Bangladesh in the coming years, she said. “We have already resolved a number of regulatory and policy issues raised by Japanese companies in Bangladesh,” she added. In this connection, the Bangladesh premier said she herself took initiative to form the Bangladesh-Japan Joint Public-Private Economic Dialogue (PPED), and it held the 5th round of PPED on April 11 just before her arrival in Japan. Also read: Bangladesh a role model for women's participation in UN peacekeeping: PM Hasina She said Bangladesh has one of the most liberal foreign investment regimes in South Asia. Sheikh Hasina mentioned that Bangladesh is fast emerging as a highly lucrative location for investment in terms of competitive cost, abundant human resources, sizeable domestic consumer market with high purchasing power and growing middle class. Moreover, she said Bangladesh is striving to be the economic hub of the region by way of improving access to regional and international markets. “We are establishing economic zones, high-tech/software technology parks across the country. Bangladesh has been developing a planned infrastructure base to place itself as a hub of connectivity between South Asia and Southeast Asia,” she said. “Our Embassy here in Tokyo is ready to cooperate and facilitate your ventures in Bangladesh." She said. Top business leaders from Japan came up with future plans regarding investment in Bangladesh.