The Awami League and partners led by Sheikh Hasina won a stunning victory in the 11th parliamentary election on December 30 bagging over 95 percent of the seats. Is it a victory for the people also? If not, can it still be turned into a people's victory?

Awami League is poised for a third consecutive term in power, which is unprecedented in Bangladesh's history. The country went to the polls yesterday after ten years of wait for a participatory election, and the AL achieved a landslide victory.

On December 7, 1970, after 23 years of existence, Pakistan witnessed its first general election. People from West and the then East Pakistan voted in 300 parliamentary constituencies to elect members of the National Assembly of Pakistan. The outcome of the election was a landslide win by the Awami League, which won 160 seats in the National Assembly.

Two parties have ruled Bangladesh for most of its 47-year-old life since the independence and one of these parties will form the

When it comes to winning support, politicians are selective about how they represent themselves, their views or decisions, their projects or policies, and their opponents, supporters or alliances. Politicians in Bangladesh claim to represent multiple, changeable and complex interests but what does that mean in practice? Let us hear the experiences of some ordinary citizens in different constituencies in this regard.

A number of extraordi-nary restrictions have been placed on journalists by the Election Commission ahead of Election Day and the extent to which the media can cover the election on December 30 remains unclear.

Contrary to popular belief that our young generation is indifferent about politics, our universities, colleges and even schoolgoing children have proved in the recent past that they are not only politically conscious but also willing to play their part when it's time. This was proved during the recent quota reform movement as well as the road safety movement.

Barring any last-minute glitch, in less than a week the nation goes to the polls. As an integral part of the electoral process political parties and alliances that entered the foray have issued their manifestos.

Rural Sylhet on a damp winter's night presents a most forbidding scene. The Stygian darkness is pierced only by the dim light of the lantern of a roadside stall in the far distance.

Since the campaign season for this month's election began on December 10, news headlines were dominated by violent clashes in

The 2018 election is not just about changing a set of policymakers: It is a possible turning point in the struggle to restore our core values.

The Constitution which we adopted on November 4, 1972 and which came into force on December 16, 1972 is unquestionably the outcome of our victory in the Liberation War, won at the cost of countless lives. It bears the signatures of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Syed Nazrul Islam and Tajuddin Ahmad.

There is no last word in politics. Politicians are rarely the ones to acknowledge this truth about their vocation and rarely, if at all, are they in the habit of being candid about it.

We are celebrating the 47th anniversary of our independence today. Our independence was won through the sacrifices of countless lives and untold sufferings.

The people of Bangladesh recognise that their basic rights and freedoms—the very things people fought for during the independence struggle—are now being threatened by the powers that be.

It was one of those hot and humid July days in Dhaka. The year was 1971 and I was only 19. Dhaka was no longer a city of delight since the war of liberation against Pakistan had begun.

In the era of modern statehood, the concept of Local Government (LG) has been indispensable in lessening the burden of the central government in service delivery.

It is the month of December, our victory month, and this is when we remember all the martyrs and the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman who fought all his life to establish a democratic, free and just society.

The nation is now in the grips of another approaching election. A flickering hope among many is for an inspirational leadership that energises, enthuses, and leads competently, and with good intentions to touch the lives of the people of Bangladesh.

Apart from its contribution to civilisation in the form of the English language, the great civic legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tradition, emanating from the British Isles is said to be its political system.