National
Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina secures fourth straight term as expected
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina swept to a fourth straight term as expected with her party winning an absolute majority in the general election, the poll body said on Monday, amid low turnout in the vote boycotted by the main opposition.
The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who participated in the 2018 vote but kept away in 2014, boycotted the polls after Hasina refused their demands to resign and allow a neutral authority to run the general election.
The daughter of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founding father of Bangladesh who was killed in an army coup in 1975 along with most members of the family, Hasina, 76, first became prime minister in 1996. This will be her fifth term overall.
In her past 15 years in power she has been credited with turning around the economy and the massive garments industry, while winning international praise for sheltering Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.
Bangladeshis largely stayed away from Sunday’s election, which was marred by violence. Turnout was about 40% when polls closed, said Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal, compared with over 80% in the last election in 2018.
The ruling Awami League party won 167 seats out of 227 seats with the outcome of the rest of the seats still to be announced, according to unofficial results released by the Election Commission.
Hasina herself bagged 249,962 votes from her constituency Gopalganj, about 165 kilometres (103 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, while her nearest rival secured just 469 votes.
Rights groups warned of a virtual one-party rule by Hasina’s Awami League in the South Asian country of 170 million people while the United States and Western nations, key customers of Bangladesh’s garment industry, had called for a free and fair election, the 12th since independence from Pakistan in 1971.
“I am trying my best to ensure that democracy should continue in this country,” Hasina said on Sunday after casting her vote, adding that her only accountability was to citizens of Bangladesh.
She has instructed party leaders and supporters not to bring out any victory processions or indulge in celebrations, said Awami League’s general secretary Obaidul Quader.
Polls were held for 299 directly elected parliamentary seats with close to 120 million voters eligible to choose from nearly 2,000 contestants. Election to one seat will be held at a later date after an independent contestant died ahead of the vote due to natural causes.
Among the ruling party winners were actor Ferdous Ahmed and former Bangladesh cricket captains Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza.
Independent candidates, many of them Awami League party members of various ranks, won 49 seats.
The BNP has accused the ruling party of propping up ‘dummy’ independent candidates to try to make the election look credible, a claim the Awami League has denied.
The BNP called a two-day strike nationwide through Sunday, asking people to shun the election, and said the low turnout was a success for their boycott call.
Hasina has accused the opposition of instigating anti-government protests that have rocked Dhaka since late October and killed at least 14 people.
At least four people were killed on Friday in a passenger train fire that the government called arson. Several polling booths, schools and a Buddhist monastery were also set ablaze days before the poll.
Critics accuse Hasina of authoritarianism, human rights violations, crackdowns on free speech and suppression of dissent.
The economy has also slowed sharply since the Russia-Ukraine war pushed up prices of fuel and food imports, forcing Bangladesh to turn last year to the International Monetary Fund for a $4.7 billion bailout.
National
Professor Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman Appointed Vice-Chancellor of Northern University Bangladesh
Professor Dr. Md. Mizanur Rahman, a distinguished academic from the Department of Marketing at the University of Dhaka, has been appointed the new Vice-Chancellor of Northern University Bangladesh (NUB). The Ministry of Education confirmed the appointment through an official notification issued on Sunday (23 November), signed by Sultan Ahmed, Assistant Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, on behalf of the President.
The notice states that, with the approval of the Honorable President and Chancellor, Professor Rahman will serve a four-year term as Vice-Chancellor under Section 31(1) of the Private University Act, 2010. He will receive all salary, allowances, and benefits as determined by the university, and his duties will commence immediately in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
Professor Rahman has an outstanding academic background. He secured First Class First in his Honors degree from the University of Dhaka’s Marketing Department, achieving record-breaking marks. He completed his MBA with dual majors in Finance and Marketing at Dalhousie University in Canada, graduating in the top 1% of his class. He later earned his Master’s degree (First Class Second) and PhD from the same department at the University of Dhaka.
During his illustrious 35-year career, he has served as Chairman of the Department of Marketing at the University of Dhaka for three years and was elected to both the Syndicate and Senate of the university. He also served as Dean at Daffodil International University and has taught as an adjunct professor at North South University, BRAC University, and Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB).
Professor Rahman has an extensive body of research, with over 35 publications, including four international papers and three research monographs. Several MPhil and PhD scholars have completed their degrees under his supervision. He also served for many years as Vice President of the Dhaka University Marketing Alumni Association.
Outside academia, he has contributed significantly to the corporate sector and educational governance. He has worked as an independent director and strategic adviser to various reputed organizations and has served on the governing bodies of several well-known colleges in Dhaka. He currently holds the position of Chairman of the North South Society.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty winds at most places across the Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas may experience moderately heavy to very heavy rainfall, according to their latest weather bulletin released on Thursday.
Day and night temperatures are expected to remain nearly unchanged across the country.
The highest rainfall in the country over the past 24 hours was recorded in Kumarkhali, with 104mm of rain by 6 a.m. on Thursday.
The axis of the monsoon trough extends from India’s Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal to Assam, passing through Bangladesh, with one of its associated troughs stretching into the North Bay of Bengal.
The monsoon remains active over Bangladesh and moderate to strong over the North Bay region.
The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) has forecasted that the mild heat wave currently affecting parts of the country, including the capital, is expected to subside in most areas within the next 24 hours, starting from 9 am today.
“A mild heat wave is sweeping across the divisions of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, and Sylhet, as well as the districts of Jashore, Chuadanga, and Kushtia. It is likely to ease in most regions,” the department reported.
In addition, BMD predicted light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers, accompanied by temporary gusty winds, across most of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Mymensingh, Khulna, Barishal, Chattogram, and Sylhet divisions. Some areas are expected to experience moderate to very heavy rainfall.
Temperatures across the country may drop by 1-2 degrees Celsius during both day and night.
On Monday, Dinajpur in the Rangpur division recorded the country’s highest temperature at 38.6°C, while Bandarban in the Chattogram division saw the lowest temperature at 24.6°C early today.
Meanwhile, rainfall recorded in the past 24 hours, ending at 6 am today, reached 66 mm in Nikli of Dhaka Division.
The sunset in Dhaka is at 5:53 pm today, and sunrise is expected at 5:49 am tomorrow.
