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Staff Correspondent The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on Tuesday addressed voters in Patuakhali and Sherpur through video conferencing from her house, Sudha Sadan, in Dhaka seeking vote for candidates of the AL-led alliance for the December 29 polls. She listened to the voters and answered their questions during the conference liked through a satellite ... Read more

Syful Islam Despite price fall of diesel both in the local and international market, price of furnace oil is yet to come down which has created mayhem among the industrialists whose industries run on this by-product of crude oil in absence of gas. Furnace oil is a basic requirement for boilers and heating in the ... Read more

Julfikar Ali Manik Infamous Islamist militant leader Mufti Abdul Hannan, who was awarded death sentence yesterday in a killing case linked to the grenade attack on British High Commissioner, stands accused in over two dozen more cases. With the latest verdict, Hannan has been convicted in two cases. He was handed down life term in ... Read more

Over 100 ordinances to be dealt with in 30 days Shakhawat Liton The inaugural session of the ninth parliament is set to begin late January or early February next year with unprecedented workload of determining the fates of over 100 ordinances within 30 days of the first sitting. The next government, which will be formed ... Read more

5 Days to Vote Same old slogans Arun Devnath Tajul Islam blares out slogans through his microphone and urges people to attend a rally, six days short of the national elections. Accompanied by his co-campaigner Md Sumon, Tajul rides a rickshaw through the shabbiness of Jurain in Old Dhaka. Both are rallying support for Abdul ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Election Commission is unable to apply Article 91E of the Representation of People Order 2008, which arms the commission up with ‘despotic’ power to cancel candidature at any stage of the process, to cases related to the December 29 general polls because of time constraints, according to the chief election commissioner, ATM ... Read more

CONSTITUENCY DHAKA 16 Voters optimistic about electing capable candidate Obaidul Ghani People of the Dhaka 16 constituency are optimistic about electing a capable candidate in the forthcoming national polls for the constituency to make the area drug- and violence-free. The women and the new voters are also very keen to cast their votes to elect ... Read more

Staff correspondent The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday called all concerned to hold rallies and processions across the country today to protest against the attempt, according to the party, to kill its chairperson, Khaleda Zia. The party called on the interim government to increase security for the party chairperson Khaleda Zia. The party said in ... Read more

SC turns down appeals Staff Correspondent The Supreme Court (SC) yesterday rejected appeals filed by 11 parliamentary aspirants against the High Court (HC) rulings, which upheld the Election Commission’s (EC) decisions cancelling their candidature on different grounds. Chamber judge of the Appellate Division Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim passed the orders after hearing arguments from both ... Read more

Staff Reporter The chairman of Westmont Power (Bangladesh) Ltd, Kazi Tajul Islam Farook, yesterday petitioned Tejgaon police station for withdrawing the extortion case he filed against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Amid a latest change of wind on the political front, he took the cue from another business tycoon, Azam J Chowdhury, who also backtracked ... Read more

UNB, Dhaka The Election Commission cannot apply themuch-talked-about section 91/e of the Representation of People Order (RPO) in the December 29 polls for time constraint, much to the relief of politicians who were in fear of falling under this sword of Damocles. Talking to reporters at the Election Commission Secretariat Election Commissioner Brig Gen (retd) ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The electoral enquiry committee has found specific evidence of violation of the electoral code of conduct against 24 candidates running for the December 29 polls. The committees, which investigated 27 specific allegations against the contenders from major political parties, including the Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islam, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh and National Awami ... Read more

Khawaza Main Uddin and Nazrul Islam Despite having development goals galore, the election manifestoes of major contenders for power miss certain critical areas and lack strategies and programmes to achieve the ambitious targets for public welfare and national progress, shows an analysis of polls pledges. Issues such as checking farmland depletion and protecting environment in ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Election Commission is yet to requisition any judicial magistrates for election duties to deal with electoral offences with only three working days in hand before national polls. Election commissioner Sakhawat Hussain, however, told New Age the commission on Monday had asked its secretariat to send a requisition letter to the government in ... Read more

Hasnat Abdul Hye If democracy is a way of life, Bangladeshis have so far been able to enjoy it by fits and starts. It is not because of their fault or lack of interest but in spite of themselves. There have been abrupt interruptions at regular intervals in democratic dispensation after independence. The first came ... Read more

ACC got info on Koko’s transactions on Sept 30: Mashhud UNB, Dhaka Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) on Monday defended revelations about BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s youngest son Arafat Rahman Koko’s transactions in Singapore days before elections saying the Commission considers it unacceptable to curb or interrupt its activities for political activities. “It’s unacceptable that the ... Read more

6 Days To Go Polls fever too intense Arun Devnath for Star Online Walk down any road in the capital — quiet or busy — and you can feel the tide of emotions over the year-end elections runs deep. On a Dhaka morning, dulled by winter, one thing emerges urgent for a nation that is ... Read more

Staff Correspondent The Election Commission (EC) will blacklist election observers if any of them are found biased towards any particular political party during polls monitoring, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said. Terming the upcoming polls “different from previous elections”, the CEC said fresh voters could change the country’s political culture by casting ... Read more

Star Business Report The prices of petroleum products were lowered yesterday to help farmers before the boro season, said chief adviser’s special assistant Dr M Tamim. The prices of kerosene and diesel were reduced by Tk 2 per litre while petrol by Tk 4 and octane by Tk 3 a litre, said Tamim, also in-charge ... Read more