Archive for December 19th, 2006
Tuesday, December 19th, 2006The grand electoral alliance led by Awami League (AL) yesterday announced that they will boycott and resist any election under the current poll schedule since in their view prerequisites for a free and fair election have not been fulfilled. In defence of the stance, AL President Sheikh Hasina at a grand rally in the capital yesterday said the atmosphere for a fair election has yet to come to existence, an acceptable voter list has not been prepared, controversial men are still dominating the Election Commission (EC), the administration is still politicised, and the caretaker government has failed to perform neutrally. ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Government borrowing from banks has shot up by a staggering 32 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the last fiscal year's same period due to low revenue income and a massive drop in foreign aids.To rein back the borrowing spree, the caretaker government has decided to tighten regulations and scrutinise project fund disbursements under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) more closely.From July to November the amount of government borrowing stood at Tk 4,661 crore, compared to Tk 3,547 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal year.Finance ministry sources fear that the government ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Deputy commissioners (DCs), also returning officers for the upcoming general election in their districts, informed the Election Commission (EC) at a high-level meeting yesterday that their preparations for the polls are being hampered as they did not get copies of the updated voter list.The EC announced at the meeting that the election will now be held on January 22 instead of January 23 as it coincides with the Swaraswati Puja.The DCs expressed their grievance at the daylong meeting organised by the Election Training Institute to brief and train high officials responsible for administering the election process across the country.The officials ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006The Election Commission's (EC) drive for correcting this year's updated voter list ended yesterday amid allegations of many eligible people's remaining out of the voter list while the field level EC staff did not turn up at many houses in the capital and elsewhere in the country. The drive that began on December 8 has also been mired with allegations of irregularities.A number of field level EC staff told The Daily Star that they could not register many people as voter due to serious shortage of voter registration form.Besides, they did not get any clear instruction from the EC."The ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006President/Chief Adviser Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday asked the deputy commissioners (DCs), superintendent of police (SPs) and all concerned to take tough legal steps to maintain law and order for a peaceful election atmosphere."The remaining problems will be solved soon, inshallah," he told a meeting of the high officials, referring to the rest part of the package proposal.Secretaries, senior officials, heads of different law-enforcement agencies, including police, BDR, Rab, and Ansar-VDP, DIG of police, police commissioners, deputy commissioners and police superintendents were present at the poll-preparatory meeting at the chief adviser's officeThe president said the political problems have been solved to a ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006In a significant political polarisation, the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party coalition, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and several other parties yesterday forged the country's largest ever alliance to advance the movement for a free and fair election.Ending all speculations, two former presidents--HM Ershad and AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury--, Zaker Party Chairman Pirjada Amir Faisal, and leaders of Tariqat Federation, an Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) faction and Islamic Front Bangladesh yesterday formally joined forces with the Sheikh Hasina-led combine at a grand rally at the city's historic Paltan Maidan.They announced that they will work in unison both for the elections ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad yesterday said he and his party have been subjected to constant threats and torture for speaking out against what he said was unbridled corruption of the BNP-led four-party alliance."I am getting threats that I would be sent to jail and come out as a mere corpse," the former dictator told the grand rally of the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party combine at Paltan Maidan."But I am a soldier, I am not scared of death," said Ershad who for the first time joined a public programme of the AL-led combine."I've thrown off the shackles to express ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury yesterday said no election could take place in the country without reconstituting the Election Commission (EC), correcting the voter roll and depoliticising the administration first."A free and fair election is not possible with biased election officials and fake names in the voter list.....President Iajuddin, Khaleda and Nizami are in collusion with each other to hold an election of vote rigging, but people will never allow it," he said addressing the Awami League (AL)-led 14-party combine's grand rally at Paltan yesterday.Criticising the president, also the chief adviser, for 'not creating' an atmosphere congenial ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Police yesterday took Mobarak, who was detained at Guantanamo Bay for five years for his suspected al-Qaeda connection, on a three-day remand to learn if he has any militancy links in the land.Airport police showed him arrested under Section 54 of the Criminal Procedure Code and placed him before the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate with the remand prayer.A special US Air Force plane on Sunday flew Mobarak Hossain, 30, son of Abul Hashem of Brahmanbaria in Bangladesh and handed him over to the Zia International Airport Immigration.Mobarak went to Pakistan for studies in 1998 and taught in a madrasa ...
(read more) Tuesday, December 19th, 2006Armed members of United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), an anti-peace accord group, ambushed an army team at Maichchhari in Rangamati Sunday evening killing the team's commander Captain Nurul Azam Gazi. Sources said the ambush ensued a half-hour-long firefight between the armed members of a pro-peace accord group and the UPDF around 4:30pm. No casualties were reported in that battle.Following the firefight, Captain Gazi, also the camp commander of Ghilachhari army camp, led a team of army personnel towards the spot of the firefight. As they reached Maichchhari area, members of UPDF ambushed them. Gazi was critically injured in the ...
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