The election to Naogaon-2 constituency (Patnitala and Dhamoirhat) has been postponed after the death of an independent candidate. As a result, the 12th parliamentary polls will be held in 299 seats on January 7. The returning officer concerned took the decision and a new schedule for the constituency will be announced later, Ashok Kumar Debnath, additional secretary of the Election Commission (EC) told on friday (Dec 29). Earlier, Aminul Haque, an independent candidate of Naogaon-2 constituency died early Friday while undergoing treatment at United Hospital in the capital Dhaka. He first bought Awami League's nomination for the seat to contest in the national election but did not get the ruling party ticket. Later, he submitted nomination form to compete in the polls as an independent candidate but the EC cancelled his candidacy citing different inconsistencies. Subsequently, he filed a writ petition in the High Court to get back his candidacy and the HC declared his candidacy valid on Wednesday. On Thursday, he was allocated the Eagle, an electoral symbol, from the office of Naogaon deputy commissioner and returning officer. But a day after, he died.

Awami League-nominated candidate Muhammad Ali Arafat won the Dhaka-17 by-election in unofficial results bagging 28,816 votes with the "Boat" symbol. Md Munir Hossain Khan, Returning Officer announced the unofficial results at Banani Bidyaniketan School and College auditorium. According to the results, Jatiya Party candidate Shikder Anisur Rahman got 1,328 votes with “Plough” symbol. Independent candidate Ashraful Hossain Alam (Hero Alam), with his "Ektara" symbol secured 5,609 votes. Md Rashidul Hasan secured 923 votes, Md Akhtar Hossain 64 votes, Md Tariqul Islam Bhuiyan  52 votes and Md Rezaul Islam Swapan got 43 votes. Total number of voters was 3,25,205 people in Dhaka-17 constituency. Of them, 171625 were men and 153580 were women. In 124 polling centers, the vote was held yesterday, from  8 am to 4 pm.

Guatemala's top court shot down Carlos Pineda's campaign, citing alleged violations of electoral law. Elections to choose who would succeed outgoing President Alejandro Giammettei will be held next month. Guatemala's top court on Friday blocked Carlos Pineda from next month's presidential race, making him the third presidential hopeful to be barred from running. The Constitutional Court turned down Pineda's appeal against the electoral authorities' decision to cut him out of the race, accusing him of violating the electoral law. "Corruption won, Guatemala lost!" conservative Pineda tweeted on Friday. International rights groups have sounded the alarm over the country's electoral process. Observers have warned the electoral authorities were using the judicial system to restrict candidates who are acceptable to the establishment. Pineda had topped all other candidates in the latest poll, garnering 22% support. Juan Pappier of Human Rights Watch described the recent disqualifications as a "clear manipulation of the judiciary" to guarantee a preferred electoral result, the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. What does this mean for the election? The elections to pick who would succeed outgoing President Alejandro Giammettei are due to be held on June 25. Giamattei is not competing, as the law prohibits him from seeking another term. Twenty-two candidates are contesting. They include former first lady Sandra Torres, ex-UN diplomat Edmond Mulet and Zury Rios, the daughter of a former dictator. If none of the candidates secures over 50% of the vote, a second round would take place on August 20.

"Everything is Allah’s will," Md Shahabuddin Chuppu, who is set to be the next President of Bangladesh, remarks today. “There is no reaction now.  This is Almighty Allah’s will,” Md Shahabuddin told reporters after submitting his nomination paper at the Election Commission. Md Shahabuddin, a retired district and session judge, had served as a commissioner at the Anti-Corruption Commission. An Awami League team, led by the party’s general secretary Obaidul Quader, went to the Election Commission to submit the nomination paper of its presidential candidate. The delegation members included AL Presidium members Mohammad Faruk Khan, Jahangir Kabir, and Abdur Rahman, AL Joint General Secretary Dr Hasan Mahmud.

EU leaders have voted to promote Ukraine and Moldova to candidate status. Joining the bloc, though, will likely take years, with reforms to conform to European standards still required. Leaders of the European Union on Thursday decided to make Ukraine and Moldova official candidates for membership of the bloc. European Council President Charles Michel made the announcement after discussions among leaders of the EU member states. The EU has been largely united in backing Ukraine since Russia invaded on February 24, adopting unprecedented economic sanctions against Moscow. Just four days after Russia launched its war, Ukraine applied to become a member of the EU. Member states were initially divided on how quickly the bloc should accept Ukraine as a member, with the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark among the most skeptical. But Ukraine’s bid got a boost last week when the European Commission gave its endorsement based on Kyiv’s answers to a questionnaire. Zelenskyy welcomes decision Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the decision, calling it a unique and historic moment in relations with the 27-nation bloc. Ukraine’s future is in the EU, he tweeted. Moldovan President Maia Sandu tweeted that the decision was a strong signal of support for Moldova and our citizens. What EU leaders have said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted his congratulations to the two countries. The European Council welcomes two new candidate countries to join the EU, said Scholz. Here’s to good cooperation in the European family. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was convinced that Ukraine and Moldova would move as swiftly as possible to implement necessary reforms. I am deeply convinced that our decision that we have taken today strengthens us all, she said. European Council President Charles Michel tweeted that it had been a historic moment. Today marks a crucial step on your path towards the EU, he told both countries. Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told DW the European Union had a window of opportunity to convince Ukraine and Moldova to implement reforms required for European Union accession. If you lose this opportunity window because you don’t give hope, then Ukraine and Moldova do not do the reforms that also we need. Getting rid of corruption, also being a rule of law country, she said. Today the EU is sending a message of solidarity to the people of Ukraine that you belong to the European family, that you belong to the EU... and you will get candidate status, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said as he arrived at the summit. Earlier on Thursday, the European Parliament voted in favor of granting Ukraine and Moldova EU candidate status. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the vote had been unequivocal. This will show leadership, resolve and vision in context of Russia’s war against Ukraine, she tweeted. North Macedonia, Albania still in limbo EU leaders debated Thursday a recommendation from the European Commission to grant Moldova, a country that borders Ukraine, candidate status. Meanwhile, leaders failed to break a deadlock over a stalled membership bids from North Macedonia and Albania. The two countries were given candidate status in 2005 and 2014 respectively, and Dimitar Kovacevski, North Macedonia’s prime minister, responded to the lack of progress. What has happened is a serious blow to the credibility (of) the European Union, Kovacevski told a news conference following the summit. For almost 20 years, the countries and the citizens of the Western Balkans have been waiting for the opportunity to become members of the European Union, Scholz said ahead of the summit in Brussels. Scholz mentioned that North Macedonia had even changed its name to further its aspirations of joining the European Union.

Awami League (AL) backed candidate Arfanul Haque Rifat was unofficially elected as mayor in Cumilla City Corporation election (CUCC) today. According to the unofficial results, Arfanul with the symbol of 'Boat' bagged 50,310 votes while his nearest rival independent candidate and former mayor Monirul Haque Sakku with 'Table Clock' got 49,967 votes. Returning Officer Shahedunnabi Chowdhury announced the result of the Cumilla City Corporation election unofficially from a temporary stage set up for the city election results at Shilpakala Academy in Cumilla tonight. Besides, Independent candidate Nizam Uddin Kaiser bagged 29,099 votes with 'Horse' symbol while Islami Andolon Bangladesh's Rashedul Islam secured 3,040 votes with 'Hat Pakha' symbol and Independent candidate Kamrul Ahsan Babul got 2,329 votes with 'Deer' symbol. The voting started at 8 am and continues until 4 pm without any break. The voting took place on electronic voting machines (EVM). Source: BSS AH

As Indian Supreme Court cleared the paths for women in the National Defence Academy (NDA), now there are 30 per cent women candidates for the prestigious institution that trains cadets to be officers in the national defence sector. This information was given by the Ministry of Defence in Parliament on Monday. The cadets recruiting exam, which has been opened for women for the first time, has one woman for every third applicant.  As defence ministry said,“ 5,75,856 candidates applied for this year and Among them, 1,77,654 are women. Necessary infrastructure and other facilities for training of female candidates are in place. The information was given by minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Dr Amar Patnaik in Rajya Sabha.   Moreover The reply stated there was no restriction on the number of women candidates, who could apply for 2021 National Defence Academy examination. "Medical standards and obligations have been notified in the UPSC notification. Physical standards will be finalised before commencement of training," the reply added.   In September this year, Supreme Court said there should be no suspension in permitting women aspirants to seat for the exam as Centre wanted more time to make arrangements and the Ministry of Defence said it would put in place a mechanism by May 2022. Entry to NDA would also pave the way for women getting permanent commission as their male counterparts who graduate from the institution. The Indian Army has granted permanent commission to 577 women officers since February 2020 after the Supreme Court verdict on the subject that also made women officers eligible for commanding their units. Permanent commission to more women officers will also pave the way for women playing larger roles in the army and also hold commanding  post. Earlier, the government defended granting permanent commission to women officers mentioning some bizaare reasons like poor hygiene in rural areas to motherhood and child care, leading a life of isolation and troops from rural backgrounds unwilling to accept women officers as commanders to the Supreme Court and later the apex court denied all the reasons government placed. Granting permanent commission to Short Service Commissioned (SSC) women officers is allowed in streams like Army Air Defence (AAD), Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps (ASC), Army Ordnance Corps (AOC), and Intelligence Corps in addition to the existing streams of Judge and Advocate General (JAG) and Army Educational Corps (AEC). But Women officers still cannot serve in infantry, artillery and armoured corps—combat wings deployed at the most forward locations facing the advesary. The army has also improved its policy on issues like training, physical endurance and postings and service courses to bring about equilibrium in service conditions for male and female officers after the Supreme Court verdict. Women entrance in the Army till now has only been through Short Service Commission (SSC) and a majority could not serve beyond 14 years, however there were some who continued on extensions but were still not given permanent commission. Source: India Today.  

Awami League nominated candidate Advocate Rezaul Karim Razu has withdrawn his nomination papers from the by-election of Rangpur sadar constituency. He announced his decision for not running in the election on Monday afternoon. After the announcement local Awami League leaders and activists expressed anger. When Rezaul Karim Razu went to local electoral office to withdraw his nomination, the activists of Awami League and its associate organizations including Chhatra League and Juba League barred him to enter. In this regard Rangpur metropolitan Awami League general secretary Tushar Kanti Mondol said, after the board meeting of party nomination scrutinizing committee Rezaul Karim was given nomination by the Prime Minister. On that day she said that this nomination could be withdrawn as Jatiya Party is a part of our grand alliance. We will go for election under alliance. For the election nine candidates submitted nomination papers from different political parties including Awami League, Jatiya Party, BNP. Of those, nominations of two candidates were cancelled by the Returning Officer due to loan defaulter and not filling up the forms properly. Jatiya Party chairman HM Ershad died on July 14 while undergoing treatment. Later on July 16 gazette was published declaring the parliament seat vacant. AH  

Rahgir Al Mahi Saad, son of late Hussain Muhammad Ershad has got the nomination from Jatiya Party (JP) in the by-election of Rangpur-3 constituency. Party Chairman GM Quader and Secretary General Mashiur Rahman Ranga took the decision in this regard at Jatiya Party’s Banani office on Sunday noon. Several presidium members confirmed the matter. Earlier, on Tuesday Saad Ershad collected party nomination papers from Banani party office. The voting will take place in the Rangpur-3 constituency on October 5 following the death of HM Ershad. Ershad was elected Member of Parliament from this constituency for five consecutive terms from 1986. AH

BNP nominated candidate Golam Mohammad Siraj has won the Bogura-6 constituency by-election. He defeated Awami League candidate T Zaman Niketa by 57 thousand 445 votes. Though vote taking was peaceful from the morning of Monday but voters’ presence was less. In the election of December 30 in this constituency BNP nominated candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir beat grand alliance candidate by one lakh 66 thousand 663 votes. In this constituency comprising Bogura municipality and sadar upazila the number of total voters is three lakh 87 thousand 458. Of them one lakh 33 thousand 870 voters exercised their rights. Winner Golam Mohammad Siraj with symbol sheaf of paddy got 89 thousand 742 votes. His nearest competitor is Awami League’s T Zaman Niketa wit symbol boat got 32 thousand 297 votes. Former MP and Jatiya Party candidate Nurul Islam Omor got seven thousand 271 votes. Besides, independent candidates Minhaz Mandal got two thousand 920 votes, Syed Kabir Ahmed Mithu got 630 votes, Muslim League’s Mufti Rafiqul Islam got 554 votes and professor Mansur Rahman of Bangladesh Congress got 456 votes. The vote taking continued from 9 am to 5 pm without any break. The overall vote casting was less though voters presence increased in the afternoon. After voting vote counting began at the centers. After that from 6 pm Returning Officer began to declare the results from the control room set up at Shaheed Chandu Stadium. After winning the eleventh national parliament election from this constituency Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir did not take the oath and as a result the seat was declared vacant. After winning the election the number of total seats for BNP in the parliament stands at six. AH