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Sheikh Hasina wins fifth term in Bangladesh amid turnout controversy
Sheikh Hasina has secured her fifth term as Bangladeshi prime minister in an election whose outcome was decided the moment its schedule was announced in early November when the main opposition boycotted the poll.
The surprise was who came second.
Instead of any political party, independent candidates secured a total of 63 seats, the second highest after Hasina’s Awami League (AL), which won 222, creating a problem of finding a parliamentary opposition.
The current opposition, the Jatiya Party, managed to secure just 11 of the 300 parliamentary seats, according to the Elections Commission.
Almost all the winning independent contenders were people who had been rejected by the AL but were asked by the party leadership to stand as “dummy candidates” to give the election a competitive veneer in front of the world.
“This is a bizarre outcome of a bizarre election,” Shahidul Alam, a renowned Bangladeshi rights activist and photographer, told Al Jazeera. “Dummy candidates in a dummy election will now lead to a dummy parliament.”
Shunned by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) – the AL’s main political opponent – which wanted the balloting held under a neutral entity instead of Hasina’s administration, Sunday’s “one-sided election” was just a “mere formality” to put Hasina back in power again, analysts say.
The only suspense, they added, was voter turnout, after Western governments put pressure on Hasina’s government to ensure a free, fair and participatory poll.
After polling closed at 4pm (10:00 GMT on Sunday), the Election Commission (EC) said turnout was 40 percent. But many were doubtful it was even that high. “I don’t know about the rest of the country but I think I have not seen such an empty Dhaka in years,” Abdullah Yusuf, an engineer in the Dhanmondi area of the capital, told Al Jazeera. “It felt like the initial COVID days. I crossed two polling centres midday and didn’t see many people besides Awami League activists who were wearing badges. EC’s claim of 40 percent is quite absurd.”
Some analysts, meanwhile, pointed to confusion at the EC announcement. “It’s hard to believe the turnout was 40 percent, especially given the fact that the chief election commissioner himself uttered 28 percent first while briefing the media and then changed it to 40 percent all of a sudden,” said Sakhawat Hossain, a former election commissioner.
The turnout figure, which was shown on the dashboard at the EC headquarters hours after the briefing, was 28 percent, and a photo of it was widely circulated in the country’s social media and received criticism. Al Jazeera checked and verified that figure. EC earlier declared at an hour before the poll closing that the turnout was about 27 percent. Al Jazeera visited at least 10 polling stations across the capital Dhaka in the last hour and did not see any voters.
Sharmin Murshid, the head of the reputed election observer organisation Brotee, told Al Jazeera that a jump from 27 to 40 in a span of an hour or so was “ridiculous” and had “tainted the EC reputation severely”. “It was a sure way to further lose the confidence of the people and credibility which it did not have to start with,” she said. “This was not an election, rather it was an exercise in casting votes by one party for one party,” she added.
BNP leaders, meanwhile, termed even 28 percent very high, saying that most of the polling booths across the country had been empty throughout the day. The opposition party earlier declared a 48 hour ‘hartal’, equivalent to a total strike, from Saturday morning, which it believed also reduced turnout.
“In most pictures and footage shared in media and social platforms, you would find photos of dogs standing, lying down and basking in the sun along with police and a few Awami League activists,” said Abdul Moyeen Khan, a senior BNP leader, while briefing journalists after the election, “But no voters.”
Khan said people had heeded their call to boycott ballots and show a “red card” to the election. “Even Awami League supporters didn’t bother to go to booths to cast their votes because they knew their candidates would win anyway,” he added.
Concerns on legitimacy
AL leaders, however, said the BNP’s plan to foil the election through “hartal” and “arson attacks” had not paid off because people did turn out to vote.
“This is a victory for our democracy,” Obaidul Quader told the media after finding a clear lead in poll results, “People give BNP’s terrorism befitting reply through balloting.”
Quader also said most people voted for their preferred candidates without any intimidation or interference in voting. “This was one of the most peaceful elections of the country,” he said.
While the last two national elections were tainted with dozens of deaths and severe violence, Sunday’s poll saw only one death and very few clashes, making it one of the most peaceful polls in the South Asian nation’s history.
“People of your country should be proud of holding such a peaceful election,” Hisham Kuhail, the CEO of the Central Election Commission of Palestine, one of several foreign observers of the poll, told a media briefing afterwards.
Kuhail, however, avoided questions about voter turnout and said he was assessing only the technicalities of the voting process – whether voters were allowed access and whether voting took place systematically. “I cannot comment on the political scenario here. For that I need to stay at least a month,” he added.
Russian observer Andrei Shutov also said the voting process was systematic and peaceful. “This election is legitimate,” he added.
AKM Wahiduzzaman, the information and technology affairs secretary of the BNP, said there was no question it was peaceful because “there were no voters”. “But it is obviously not legitimate,” he said. The Awami League’s victory, he added, was “illegal and illegitimate” because people did not “legitimise them through votes”.
(Aljazeera)
Approval has been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 01-03-2023 for the National Curriculum Framework and the methodology for implementing the aforementioned framework, which was initiated by the National Institute of Education in 2019 under the education reform process.
However, considering the modules relevant to Grades 1, 6, and 10 that have been prepared by the National Institute of Education for the implementation of the new education reforms by the time the new government comes into power in 2024, it was planned to implement the new National Curriculum Framework only for Grades 1 and 6 in 2026, ensuring appropriate adjustments to the new government’s policies.
Further, it has also been planned to introduce vocational subjects from grade 10 onwards.
Accordingly, the concept paper required for ‘Transformational Change in Sri Lanka’s General Education’, which has been prepared to inform and make relevant parties aware of the proposed adjustments, has also been submitted to the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Education Reforms on 22-10-2025.
Subsequently, as decided at the Cabinet Meeting held on 13-01-2026, steps have been taken to postpone the implementation of education reforms for grade 6, which had been planned under the first phase of the comprehensive reform agenda for general
education, up to the year 2027, and only to implement new curriculum reforms for grade 1 in the year 2026.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education has followed these steps.
• preparing a new concept paper with policy recommendations after reviewing the concept paper prepared related to bringing about transformational change in Sri Lanka’s general education
by the National Education Commission.
• Having reviewed the revised concept paper by the National Steering Committee established as per the cabinet decision dated 23-03-2026 and subcommittees established under 5 pillars
relevant to the education reforms-namely Curriculum Reform, Human Resource Development, Education Administrative Reforms & Infrastructure Development, Evaluation & Assessment, and Public Awareness & Promotion-and obtaining further observations and recommendations.
• Based on those observations and recommendations, further revising the National Curriculum Framework prepared by the National Institute of Education in 2023 and obtaining approval
from the Academic Affairs Board of the National Institute of Education.
• Obtaining approval from the Council of the National Institute of Education for the National Curriculum Framework approved by its Academic Affairs Board.
• Obtaining concurrence from the National Steering Committee for New Education Reforms on 2026-08-13 for the National Curriculum Framework approved by the Council of the National Institute of Education.
• Printing and preparing activity books and teacher guides for all 3 terms of Grade 1 and Grade 2 for the year 2027, so as to continue carrying forward the primary education reforms
commenced in the year 2026.
• Preparing Grade 6 modules for Terms I, II, and III, as well as teacher guides for all 3 terms.
• Master trainers have been trained by the National Institute of Education for all primary and secondary subjects, and all plans related to teacher training at the provincial level have been
prepared.
• Formulating the policy guidelines on school-based evaluation and assessment—prepared for practical implementation while managing available resources within the school system by the
Evaluation and Assessment Sub-Committee and obtaining the approval of the National Steering Committee.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Hon. Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education to further implement the education reform process for grade 1, which has been initiated in the year 2026,
and to further initiate the education reform process for grade 2 and grade 6 in the year 2027, based on the concept paper prepared by the National Education Commission, the National Curriculum Framework approved by the National Steering Committee for New Education Reforms, and the School-Based
Evaluation and Assessment Guideline.
Sri Lanka will face India in the semi-finals of Asian Games men’s tournament after their quarter-final clash against Nepal was abandoned without a ball being bowled in Nisshin, Japan. The game was called off prior to the toss, with rain having begun hours prior to the scheduled 9am local start and not looking like abating.
Sri Lanka’s progression was assured by virtue of their higher seeding in terms of the ICC T20I rankings – Sri Lanka, alongside India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the four seeded teams in the tournament. On Monday, India had qualified over Afghanistan after another washout, again by virtue of their higher. Similarly, Pakistan’s qualification was assured following a rain abandonment in their quarter-final against Hong Kong.
In the 2022 Asian Games, Sri Lanka had been eliminated at the quarter fial stages by Afghanistan. Another washout in the semis against, India though, will see the latter qualify for the final.
A few hours later, the fourth quarter-final between Bangladesh and Malaysia was also washed out. Bangladesh will now face Pakistan in the first semi-final on October 1, followed by India vs Sri Lanka later on the same day
(Cricinfo)
The Bangladesh vs Malaysia abandonment on Tuesday completed a quartet of rained off matches in the Asian Games men’s tournament. The match was called off two hours before the toss, with the teams told not to even turn up at the venue.
Bangladesh, by virtue of higher seeding, go through to the semi-finals where they will now face Pakistan on October 1. Earlier in the morning, the Sri Lanka vs Nepal fixture was also called off due to rain, with Sri Lanka advancing into the semi-finals where they will meet India.
There is, however, some good news, as the weather forecast in Nisshin is better for the semi-final and the medal match day, on October 1 and 3, respectively.
In the last edition (2023), Bangladesh had lost to India in the semi-final but won the third-place playoff against Pakistan to take home the bronze medal. They had won the bronze in 2014 as well and Bangladesh’s best finish was winning the gold medal in 2010, when they beat Afghanistan in the final.
(Cricinfo)
Cabinet nod to increase the number of new automated passenger clearance gates at the Bandaranayake International Airport to 12
Draft Bill for amending the Trust Ordinance
Implementing further relief programme to Public sffected by the Middle East conflict situation
Establishment of a Spectrum Management and Monitoring System and a Quality of Service and Quality of Experience System for the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka
Appointment of a Committee for the Restitution of Sri Lankan Cultural Heritage Held Abroad
Ten-Year National Action Plan on the Social Protection Sector (2026–2035)
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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