Mohiuddin Alamgir

From a staggered national election to a proportional representation system -- the Election Commission has been flooded with a whopping number of proposals placed by 28 political parties on the electoral reforms during the recently concluded dialogue.

Differences of opinion on the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the next national polls are widening among political parties with almost half of the registered ones opposed to electronic voting.

Nearly half of the 39 registered political parties are in favour of a polls-time government under interim, caretaker or all-party system for ensuring a participatory and credible parliamentary election. 

Nine opposition political parties, including the BNP, have  skipped the ongoing talks with the Election Commission, saying that they have no confidence that the commission would be able to hold a free, fair and participatory national polls.

The BNP yesterday skipped Election Commission’s dialogue seeking recommendations of political parties on how to hold a free and fair general election.

The PEC and JSC exams have economic repercussions, too.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday said it’s not possible to force any political party to take part in the next national election.

The government is going to introduce two-year pre-primary education at primary schools next year despite the fact that the pre-primary training programme could not prepare teachers for effectively teaching students in classrooms, especially considering the play-based approach towards education.

Bangladesh has the lowest proportion of youths aged between 15 and 24 without secondary education level skills in South Asia, found a recent study.

To keep the capital clean during the sacrificial rituals of  Eid-ul-Azha, the two city corporations fixed 535 designated spots to  sacrifice animals during Eid in 2015.

Thirty years ago, the university was established as a non-profit with the vision to become a centre of excellence in higher education. But some of the trustees allegedly used the North South University to make a quick buck, tarnishing the image of one of the country’s best seats of learning.

With the next parliamentary election a year and a half away, major political parties, except for the ruling Awami League, are toughening their stance against the use of Electronic Voting Machines in the polls.

Floods in the north-eastern region are taking a heavy toll on education with at least 5,000 primary and secondary schools in 18 districts closed down.

Bangladesh’s first education act, which will be sent to the cabinet division next week for approval, orders a ban on printing, publishing and marketing notebooks and guidebooks -- a menace to the country’s education system.

The Election Commission’s initiative to earn political parties’ trust over Electronic Voting Machines sustained a blow as five parties, including the BNP, skipped its views-exchange meeting yesterday.

Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal yesterday apparently changed his tune about the step the Election Commission took against ruling Awami League lawmaker AKM Bahauddin Bahar ahead of the Cumilla City Corporation polls.

The Election Commission is all set to begin talks with political parties from today to gain their trust over Electronic Voting Machines.

Gopalganj is considered an Awami League bastion as it is the ancestral home of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Today, the vice-chancellors and registrars of all 50 public universities will be taken to Cox’s Bazar by the University Grants Commission, an exercise that is expected to cost at least Tk 15 lakh.

If the next general election is not joined by all political parties, it would not be accepted nationally and internationally, a number of former chief election commissioners, election commissioners and election officials said yesterday.