Election Commission
‘Everything is Allah’s will’: Md Shahabuddin, set to become next President of Bangladesh
“Everything is Allah’s will,” Md Shahabuddin Chuppu, who is set to be the next President of Bangladesh, said today.
“There is no reaction now. This is Almighty Allah’s will,” Md Shahabuddin told reporters after submitting his nomination paper at the Election Commission.
Md Shahabuddin, a retired district and sessions judge, had served as a commissioner at the Anti-Corruption Commission.
“Two applications have been submitted to the office of the Chief Election Commissioner and Presidential Election Officer at 11:00am and 11:05am. These two applications will be scrutinized tomorrow (Monday) at 1pm. The Chief Election Officer will inform you tomorrow after scrutinizing the nomination papers”, said Election Commission Secretary Jahangir Alam.
An Awami League team, led by the party’s general secretary Obaidul Quader, went to the Election Commission to submit the nomination paper of its presidential candidate. The delegation members included AL Presidium members Mohammad Faruk Khan, Jahangir Kabir, and Abdur Rahman, AL Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud, Chief Whip of the Jatiya Sangsad Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury Liton, AL Information and Research Secretary Dr. Salim Mahmud, AL office secretary Biplab Barua, AL publicity and publication secretary Abdus Sobhan Golap.
Also Read: Md Shahabuddin Chuppu set to become country’s next president
According to the schedule, the presidential election will be held on February 19 as the tenure of incumbent President Abdul Hamid nears an end.
The final date for submitting nomination papers was February 12 and those will be reviewed on February 13, as per the EC.
The commission set February 14 as the final date for withdrawing nominations.
Voting will be held at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2 pm to 5 pm on February 19.
According to the constitution, a new president has to be elected within 90 to 60 days prior to the end of the incumbent president's tenure.
The previous presidential election schedule was announced on January 25, 2018.
Abdul Hamid was elected president unopposed for the second term on February 6 though the election was slated for February 18.
President Hamid is set to complete his tenure on April 23 this year
EC to purchase 700mt paper from Karnaphuli Mills ahead of national election
The Election Commission will purchase paper from the state-owned Karnaphuli Paper Mills (KPM) ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary election.
AKM Anisuzzaman, managing director of KMP, said EC collected paper from the mill for use as ballot paper in the national election. The EC has sent a letter seeking 700 mt of paper and those will be provided to the EC in time as per their demand, he said.
Read more: Production at Karnaphuli Paper Mills resumes after 25 days
Sources said paper in three colours -- yellow, blue and pink -- are needed for ballot paper. This year the KMP will provide the colour papers as per the demand of the EC.
Papers of KPM are also supplied to different government organisations and universities.
Besides, the government is using the paper of KPM in textbooks, provided to students for free.
Read More: EVM purchasing suspended, not cancelled: EC secretary
Despite some limitations, KPM, since 75 years of its establishment, has been providing high-quality paper to different organisations due to its huge demand.
3 AL candidates, 2 from 14-party alliance and 1 independent win by-polls
Ruling Awami League’s three candidates, two from the 14-party alliance and one independent contender won elections on Wednesday (February 01, 2023) as voting took place in six parliamentary constituencies.
The Election Commission organised the by-polls to six parliamentary seats that fell vacant after BNP MPs resigned in December as part of their strategic decision involving anti-government movement ahead of next general elections expected to be held early next year.
In Chapainawabganj-2, Awami League candidate Muhammad Ziaur Rahman confirmed his victory by securing 94,928 votes.
His nearest contender Mohammad Ali Sarkar, an independent candidate, got 25,399 votes with the symbol of an ‘apple’.
Read more: By-polls to 6 JS seats end amid stray incidents
AL-backed Md Abdul Wadud defeated independent candidate Samiul Hoque with a margin of 3,658 votes in Chapainawabganj-3 constituency.
Wadud, also general secretary of the district unit AL, got 59,638 votes while Samiul secured 55, 980 votes.
Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer AKM Galib Khan announced the results around 9:00 pm.
In Bogura-4, the 14-party-nominated candidate AKM Rezaul Karim Tansen won from the constituency with the symbol of Torch by securing 20,405 votes.
Read More: Diplomats are welcome to advise on polls, but no meddling with internal matters: Info Minister
His closest opponent Ashraful Hossain Alam alias as Hero Alam got 19,571 votes. Alam was defeated by only 834 votes.
AL candidate Ragebul Ahsan won from the Bogura-6 by bagging 49,336 votes while his nearest contender and independent candidate Abdul Mannan got 21, 864 votes.
Independent candidate Advocate Abdus Sattar Bhuyian, also an expelled leader from the BNP, won from Brahmanbaria-2 constituency by 44,916 votes.
Jatiya Party’s candidate Abdul Hamid Bhasani got 9, 635 votes while independent candidate Abu Asif Ahmed, another expelled leader of BNP, got 3,269 votes.
Read More: Dipu Moni for participation of all parties in elections
In Thakurgaon-3, Jatiya Party’s Presidium Member Hafiz Uddin secured 84,047 votes, defeating his nearest candidate Principal Gopal Chandra Roy, an independent, with a margin of 33,738 votes.
Gopal got 50,309 votes and 14-party-backed candidate and former lawmaker Yeasin Ali captured 11,356 votes.
A total of six candidates contested in the by-election there.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said the average voter turnout in the by-election in six parliamentary seats may be 15 percent to 20 percent.
Read More: Why restricting govt officials from contesting JS polls in 3 yrs of retirement not illegal: HC
"The average voter turnout in the election may be 15 percent to 20 percent. It is our primary assumption, not a final estimate. Though the presence of the voters was low in the polling stations, discipline was maintained at the voting centres during elections," he said.
He made the remarks while talking to journalists after monitoring the by-polls at the Election Commission Bhaban in the capital's Agargaon.
Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were used in the by-elections, said SM Asaduzzaman, Joint Secretary of the Election Commission.
However, no CCTV cameras were installed in the polling centres, he added.
Read More: By-polls to 6 JS seats underway amid stray incidents
Forty aspirants contested in the six constituencies.
Earlier on December 10, 2022 at a public rally, parliamentarians of BNP announced their resignation. On December 11, Chapainawabganj-2 lawmaker Md Aminul Islam, Bogura-4 lawmaker Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Bogura-6 lawmaker Golam Mohammad Siraj, and Thakurgaon-3 lawmaker Zahidur Rahman resigned from Parliament.
Two other BNP lawmakers — Advocate Abdus Sattar of Brahmanbaria-2 constituency and Harun-or-Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3 — resigned from Parliament later.
EVM purchasing suspended, not cancelled: EC secretary
The government of Bangladesh has decided not to proceed with purchasing 2 lakh electronic voting machines (EVMs) at the moment, but the procurement project has not been cancelled, Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam said today (January 23, 2023).
“The Planning Commission has decided to suspend the processing of the project, considering the government’s financial capacity amid the ongoing global economic crisis,” he said while speaking at a press briefing held at the Election Commission in Dhaka.
Read more: Vote using ballot papers if EVM scheme not passed by mid-January: Commissioner Rasheda
On September 19 last year, the Election Commission approved a Tk 8,711 crore project to procure electronic voting machines (EVMs) for 150 constituencies, out of 300, for the 12th parliamentary election.
On August 23, the EC decided to use electronic voting machines instead of traditional ballot papers in maximum of 150 constituencies in the next general election – likely to be held early next year.
The decision received strong opposition from BNP and its allies, who did not join talks with the CEC that continued throughout the month of July.
Read more: EVMs: How many seats to be known by Jan
However, the ruling Awami League welcomed the decision as it was their demand to use EVMs in all 300 seats in the next election.
Presidential election within February 23 : EC secretary
The presidential election of Bangladesh will be held within February 23.
Election Commission (EC) Secretary Md. Jahangir Alam said this while talking to reporters after a meeting held at EC building on Sunday.
"The process has already started. We will contact the Parliament Secretariat and fix the date of the Chief Election Commissioner’s meeting with the Speaker," he said.
Current president Abdul Hamid cannot be elected president for another term as the country’s constitution allows a maximum of two terms for a person in the post of president.
Hamid is the only President who has been serving for two consecutive terms. His second and last tenure will expire on April 24 this year.
On Apr 24, 2013, Abdul Hamid was sworn in as the 20th President of Bangladesh.
Read More: EC starts receiving applications for settling objections to draft voter list
After the end of his first tenure, Hamid also took oath as the president on the same date in 2018 for the second term.
Lawmakers vote in the presidential election, which is supposed to be held in the House with the CEC acting as the election officer.
Govt seeks amendment to Public Service Act to extend coverage
The Public Service (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was placed in Parliament on Tuesday seeking to make mandatory for the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies to take clearance from the Finance Division over financial expenditures.
State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain tabled the proposed legislation and it was sent to the respective scrutiny committee for further examination. The committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days.
Read more: Bill incorporating max 10 years’ jail for leaking PSC exam questions passed in parliament
In the existing Public Service Act, 2018, the Finance Division has authority over the financial matters of the government entities, officials and employees, but it was not clear what would be the involvement of the Finance Division regarding the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies.
The public universities, the Election Commission, or local bodies like city corporations and union parishads will have to take opinions of the Finance Division over their financial expenditures.
Read more: Bill placed in JS to establish universities in Meherpur, Naogaon
It had been mandatory too for the autonomous, legislative and local government bodies to take clearance from the Finance Division before, but the enactment of the existing law in 2018 made it unclear.
EC starts receiving applications for settling objections to draft voter list
The Election Commission on Monday started receiving applications for settling the objections to the draft of the updated voter list .
The Commission informed that they will receive applications till January 31 andsettle the objections within February 7.
Read more: Voter numbers increased by 57.74 lakh in draft list: EC
The total number of voters in the country is now over 11.50 crore as the Election Commission on Sunday released a draft of the updated voter list with 57.74 lakh new voters.
The total number of voters in the final voter list published on March 2 last year was 11,32,87,010 which has increased to 11,90,61,158 this year.
The total voter growth rate this time stands at 5.10 percent.
In a letter sent by the Election Commission to the field level officials on December 11 last, everyone was instructed to send the draft list on January 15. Every year the draft list is published on January 2 but this time it did not happen.
There is a provision to update the voter list from January 2 to March 2 as per the voter list rules, EC officials said.
Read more: EC: Updated draft voter list to be published on Jan 15
According to the provision, the final list is published on March 2 after settling the objections to the draft list.
This time, the release of the draft voter list has been delayed, but the schedule of the final list will remain unchanged.
Will examine reasons behind slow voting in Rangpur city polls: CEC
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Habibul Awal on Wednesday said that the election commission will examine the reasons behind the slow voting through EVM during the Rangpur City Corporation Election (RCC).
“Some problems have been reported in the Rangpur City Corporation election. We’ve got complaints of slow vote casting through EVMs (electronic voting machines),” the CEC told the reporters after a post-election meeting of Rangpur City Corporation at the Election Commission Bhaban.
“EC does not want to see such problem in future. So discussions are ongoing with all parties,” he said.
Read more: Election violence under present EC drops to zero: CEC
Although there had been less fingerprint problem in RCC election, the vote casting was slow due to various reasons, said the CEC.
No irregularities reported yet in Gaibandha by-election: EC Rashida
No irregularities have been reported yet at the polling stations during the Gaibandha by-election, said Election Commissioner Rashida Sultana.
She said this while observing the election on CCTV cameras from the Election Commission office at Agargaon in the capital on Wednesday morning.
Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway
She also said that the voter turnout was low due to cold weather.
"We can see the voting in the CCTV cameras. So far, there has been no problem at the polling centers," she said.
EC IDEA Project DPD (Communications) Squadron Leader Shahriar Alam told reporters that the election is being monitored directly from Dhaka through a total of 1,242 CCTV cameras.
The voting is being monitored by CC cameras from 8 am at the EC control room on the fifth floor of the Election Commission building.
Read more: Gaibandha-5 by-polls: EC to take action against 133 officials
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, Election Commissioners Ahsan Habib Khan, Md. Alamgir, Rashida Sultana and Anisur Rahman are monitoring the polls.
Gaibandha-5 by-polls: Festive mood as voting underway
Voting in the by-election for Gaibandha-5 constituency, which was suspended due to irregularities, is underway with participation of voters in a festive mood.
Voting started at 8 am and will continue till 4:30 pm. No untoward incident was reported till the filing of this report around 10 am.
People were seen standing in long queues since morning, ignoring the cold.
The presence of female voters is comparatively higher than their male counterparts.
A total of 3,39,743 people are expected to exercise their franchise in 145 polling centres. Of them, 1,70,160 are females and 1,69,583 are male.
District Election Officer and Returning officer Abdul Motaleb said that of the 145 polling centres, 72 are consider "important" while 32 are counted as "most important".
Read: EC has 'no legal obligation' to bring parties to election
All preparations have been taken to hold a smooth, free and fair election, he said.
Elections will be monitored through CCTV cameras as done before.
Rab, police, BGB and Ansar members will remain deployed to hold the election peacefully, said Motaleb.
The candidates of the Gaibandha-5 by-election are: Awami League candidate Mahmud Hasan Ripon, Jatiya Party candidate AHM Golam Shaheed Ranju, Bikalpa Dhara candidate Advocate Jahangir Alam and independent candidate Syed Mahbubur Rahman.
The constituency consists of Saghata and Phulchhari upazilas.
On October 12 last year, the Election Commission (EC) suspended the by-election due to “rampant irregularities” on the election day and later the commission fixed January 4 for holding the polls.
Following the death of Gaibandha-5 lawmaker and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Fazle Rabbi Miah on July 22, 2022, it became a constitutional obligation to hold election for the parliamentary seat by October 20, 2022. Accordingly it was scheduled for October 12.
A three-member committee was formed to look into the election irregularities on October 12 last year.
Following the recommendations of the committee, the Election Commission took punitive actions against 133 officials including an additional deputy commissioner, five sub-inspectors and returning officer of the election.
Read More: EC to delve into slow voting complaint in Rangpur City Corporation Polls