DHAKA: Bangladesh said on Sunday it was &quot;surprised&quot; and &quot;shocked&quot; that India had allowed fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to make a public address in New Delhi.&nbsp;Hasina, 78, fled to neighbouring India in August 2024 after a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-police-say-student-leaders-killers-fled-to-india" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">student-led uprising</a>&nbsp;ended her iron-fisted 15-year rule. She made her first public speech since then in an audio address to a packed press club in Delhi on Friday.&nbsp;She was found guilty in absentia by a Dhaka court in November of incitement, issuing an order to kill and inaction to prevent atrocities and was sentenced to be hanged.&nbsp;&quot;The government and the people of Bangladesh are surprised and shocked,&quot; Dhaka&#39;s foreign ministry said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;Allowing the event to take place in the Indian capital and letting mass murderer Hasina openly deliver her hate speech... constitute a clear affront to the people and the Government of Bangladesh.&quot;&nbsp;It said allowing Hasina to make the speech set &quot;a dangerous precedent&quot; that could &quot;seriously impair bilateral relations&quot;.&nbsp;Bangladesh voters go to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladesh-launches-campaigns-for-first-posthasina-polls" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">polls on February 12</a>&nbsp;to choose new leaders after a period of turmoil that followed the overthrow of Hasina&#39;s autocratic government.&nbsp;Hasina said in her audio address that &quot;Bangladesh will never experience free and fair elections&quot; under interim leader Muhammad Yunus.&nbsp;More than 100,000 people watched the address, which was broadcast online.&nbsp;Bangladesh has asked India to extradite Hasina, but New Delhi has yet to comment on the request.&nbsp;India&#39;s past support for Hasina has frayed relations between the South Asian neighbours since her overthrow.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh condemned India for allowing exiled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to address supporters in New Delhi, warning it set a precedent, hurt bilateral ties, after her conviction and sentencing over abuses following her overthrow.

Bangladesh criticizes India over fugitive leader Hasina's speech

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ISLAMABAD: Seventy-six women candidates, around one-third of the total number, will contest Bangladesh&rsquo;s 13th National Parliamentary Election scheduled for Feb. 12, state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) reported on Thursday. Akhter Ahmed, senior secretary of the Election Commission Secretariat, disclosed the figures during a briefing for reporters at Nirbachon Bhaban in Agargaon. He said the highest number of women candidates, 15, will contest from the Dhaka-12 constituency, while only two women are contesting in Pirojpur-1. Overall, 1,981 candidates are running for the 300 seats in parliament, BSS reported. Of the total candidates, 249 are independents and 76 are women, the Election Commission said. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has nominated the most candidates, 288 in total, while nine registered political parties have not fielded any, according to state media. Responding to a question on whether the number of candidates could still change, Ahmed said it would depend on court directives. &ldquo;If the court orders, the number of contested candidates may increase. We will follow whatever the court directs,&rdquo; he said, adding that several candidates had already been included following court orders, BSS reported. Over 127 million eligible votersMeanwhile, the Election Commission also released constituency-wise voter data ahead of the Feb. 12 election and a referendum scheduled for the same day. A total of 127,711,895 voters are eligible to cast ballots nationwide, said Md. Ruhul Amin Mollik, director of public relations at the Election Commission Secretariat, according to BSS. Of the total electorate, 51% (64,825,151) are male and 49% (62,885,524) are female, while the number of hijra voters stands at 1,120, BSS reported. The lowest number of voters, 2,28,431, is registered in the Jhalokhati-1 constituency, while the highest number, 8,04,333, is in Gazipur-2, among the country&rsquo;s 300 constituencies, according to the Election Commission.

File Photo - National Assembly of Bangladesh (Wikimedia Commons)

Bangladesh’s Election Commission says the women are among 1,981 candidates contesting the Feb. 12 national parliamentary election, with more than 127 million voters eligible to cast ballots.

76 women candidates to contest in Bangladesh’s February polls

ISLAMABAD: The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) has deployed 56 long-term observers (LTOs) across all 64 districts of Bangladesh to monitor the parliamentary elections scheduled for Feb. 12, state media reported Saturday. The state-run news agency, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), reported that the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/eu-to-deploy-large-election-observation-mission-to-bangladesh-state-media" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">observers</a>&nbsp;were deployed following a brief ceremony held at a city hotel, where Deputy Chief Observer Inta Lase underscored their role in assessing the electoral process. &ldquo;The long-term observers are a critical element of our mission. Their observations and insights will ground our impartial and fact-based evaluation of the electoral process,&rdquo; Lase said at the ceremony, according to the report. The EU EOM is following a robust and well-established methodology of long-term, nationwide observation to ensure a balanced and thorough assessment of the electoral process, the state news agency said. Long-term observers According to BSS, the long-term observers will closely monitor key aspects of the election at the regional level and support the analysis of the core expert team based in Dhaka. &ldquo;Our observers will work in teams of two and in their areas of observation, they will meet voters, election officials, candidates, and political parties, as well as citizen observers and youth activists, not only in the cities, but also in small towns and villages,&rdquo; Lase said. The observers have been drawn from European Union member states, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland. Before deployment, they received extensive briefings on the electoral process, political environment, legal framework, and the media and social landscapes in Bangladesh, BSS reported. The mission was deployed following an invitation from the authorities of Bangladesh and is led by Chief Observer Ivars Ijabs, a member of the European Parliament. He officially launched the mission at a press conference on Jan. 11 in Dhaka. Short-term observers As&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/bangladeshs-interim-government-promises-credible-polls-amid-regional-diplomacy-focus" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">election day approaches</a>, the mission will be reinforced by 90 short-term observers, along with observers from diplomatic missions of European Union member states, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland, to observe voting, counting, and tabulation processes. A delegation of members of the European Parliament will also join the mission. At full strength, the European Union Election Observation Mission will comprise about 200 observers from all 27 European Union member states, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland, BSS reported. According to BSS, the mission is expected to present its preliminary findings at a press conference in Dhaka on Feb. 14. A final report with recommendations for future electoral processes will be submitted to the authorities after completion of the entire electoral process and will be made public. European Union officials said the mission operates under a strict code of conduct requiring neutrality and non-interference and conducts its activities in line with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation endorsed under United Nations auspices in 2005.

As election day approaches, the mission will be reinforced by 90 short-term observers, along with observers from diplomatic missions of European Union member states, Canada, Norway, and Switzerland, to observe voting, counting, and tabulation processes.

Articles tagged with "Bangladesh election 2026"

Bangladesh criticizes India over fugitive leader Hasina's speech

76 women candidates to contest in Bangladesh’s February polls

European Union deploys 56 long-term observers across Bangladesh