The 13th Jatiya Sangsad , which goes into its maiden session today, is in many ways a first for the country. Installed through a historic transition following an uprising that toppled the longest-running autocracy in Bangladesh, it brings about a generational shift in the political guard. Both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, each in their sixties, are first-time parliamentarians. Two-thirds of the newly elected MPs, responsible for shaping the nation’s future, are also first-timers. In fact, a majority of MPs from both the ruling party and the opposition are newcomers to parliamentary affairs. In a sense, this is a credit to the youthquake of 2024, which has infused fresh blood into Bangladesh’s parliamentary democracy. The entry of six parliamentarians from the year-old National Citizen Party (NCP) is also significant, as its leadership is entirely a product of the student-led uprising. There has been debate about the party’s electoral alliance with ...

Now that campaigning for the February 12 national election has officially ended and the manifestos of all major parties are before the nation, this is the moment—before we head to the polls—to pause and reflect on whether the plans and pledges we have heard have been adequately scrutinised. By global standards, this election so far appears to have relied almost entirely on competing “narratives” crafted and sold by parties and their leaders. Campaign strategists have been largely successful in pushing their respective narratives and counter-narratives, leaving us—the voters—with little choice but to judge personalities and rhetoric rather than policies and substance. In a democracy, elections are meant to be the ultimate test of politicians, rooted in public accountability. Town hall meetings and meaningful engagement with the media—including interviews and press conferences with question-and-answer sessions—are central to that process. Unfortunately, none of the party leaders offered ...

  Our worst apprehension, which we so desperately wanted to escape, has tragically become reality with an avoidable loss of lives - of a policeman and an opposition activist. With the government’s change of heart in allowing the opposition BNP to hold its grand rally in front of its party office in Nayapaltan, Dhaka, we thought the tension that had risen due to the ruling party’s vow to keep hold on the city streets would be eased. Despite reports of several obstructive measures being put in place to restrict a huge flow of opposition supporters entering Dhaka, there was little chances, until midday, that the protest would become violent.  Observers were rather worried over how the stand-off between police and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh activists over the latter’s vow to hold an unauthorised grand rally at Shapla Chattar turn out. Instead of any trouble, Jamaat was allowed to have its rally, just a few hundred metres away from their planned spot in Motijheel. It was so content...