Politics
UK AL greets PM in London
The United Kingdom (UK) chapter of Bangladesh Awami League received Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina when she arrived there.
Leaders and activists of UK Awami League led by its president Sultan Mahmud Sharif and general secretary Sayed Sajidur Rahman Faruk received the Prime Minister with a bouquet at Claris Hotel in Central London.
Senior vice president Alhaj Jalal Uddin, UK AL advisory council chairman Alhaj Samsuddin Khan, vice presidents Prof Abul Hashem and Hormuz Ali, joint secretaries Naeem Uddin Riaz and Maruf Ahmed Chowdhury and organizing secretary Abdul Ahad Chowdhury, among others, were present.
Prior, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in the British capital here on Thursday afternoon (local time).
The premier is now on an official tour to the United Kingdom and the United States to join the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
On the second day, on September 16, Secretary General of Commonwealth Patricia Scotland will pay a courtesy call on her at her place of residence.
Later, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, UK, Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will also pay a courtesy call on her at her place of residence.
On September 19, she will attend the state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.
In the evening, the Prime Minister is scheduled to depart London for New York by the Special Flight of Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
She will be received by the Ambassador of Bangladesh to the United States Muhammad Imran and the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Muhammad Abdul Muhith when she will reach JFK International Airport.
On September 20, Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to attend a reception meeting hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and join the inaugural ceremony of the 77th session of UNGA. She will have bilateral meetings with Filippo Grandi of UNHCR and Slovenian President Borut Pahor. She will also join the UNGA Platform of Women Leaders.
At the end of the day, she will attend the reception of US President Joe Biden.
On September 23, the Prime Minister will deliver her address at the General Debate of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Lawmakers from the Awami League and independent candidates elected in the January 7 polls took their oath as members of the parliament today. The ceremony, administered by the 11th Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, commenced at 10:30 am in the Parliament Complex’s Oath Room.
Speaker Chaudhury, along with independent parliament members, took oath earlier, with Jatiya Party and other faction MPs following suit at 12 pm. The constitution mandates newly elected MPs to take the oath within three days of election results being published in an official gazette, as per Article 148 (2A). A gazette notification on the 12th National Elections’ results, detailing 298 newly elected members, was issued on Tuesday. The new cabinet is scheduled to be sworn in at Bangabhaban at 7 pm on Thursday (January 11).
The Awami League secured 222 out of 298 seats, with independent candidates, mostly aligned with AL, winning 62 seats. Jatiyo Party and single candidates from other parties also claimed victories. After the oath, the AL parliamentary party will elect Sheikh Hasina as their leader, paving the way for her fifth term as prime minister. The president will administer the oath to the new prime minister, who will then form a cabinet with ministers and state ministers chosen by her.
The Awami League (AL) is gearing up to celebrate its victory in the national polls with a rally in Dhaka. Scheduled for January 10 at Suhrawardy Udyan, the event coincides with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s Homecoming Day, as announced by Obaidul Quader, the party’s general secretary, during a press conference at the Dhaka District Awami League office in Tejgaon on Monday afternoon.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the Awami League, is set to lead the rally, commencing at 2:30 pm. The Awami League secured an overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections, winning 223 out of 299 seats. This decisive victory paves the way for Prime Minister Hasina’s fourth consecutive term and her fifth term in total. The rally at Suhrawardy Udyan serves as a platform for the Awami League to celebrate its triumph and rally support.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen stated that if the United States’ statements about the visa policy are accurate, then the policy should be applied to BNP leaders as they aim to disrupt the election. The foreign minister made these comments after a meeting with a US observer team at his residence in Sylhet in the evening.
He mentioned that BNP’s current popularity in the country has declined, and they have chosen the path of terrorism. He added that the people of the country are not concerned about Khaleda Zia’s imprisonment, and the party is suffering due to the immaturity of its leadership.
In response to a question, the minister mentioned that 227 observers and journalists from various countries worldwide would come to monitor the upcoming election. He noted that members of the US observer team did not provide comments on the election; instead, they were gathering information. The US team included Geoffrey McDonald, Senior Advisor, Asia Pacific, IRI, Amitab Ghosh, Senior Program Manager, IRI, and David Hogstra, Program Manager, IRI.
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