National Citizen Party convener and member of parliament Nahid Islam accused Bangladesh’s government Sunday of rejecting the referendum mandate for the July Charter by failing to implement promised constitutional reforms.
Bangladesh’s registered voter count has risen to 128,632,555 after the Election Commission added 309,315 voters over two months and 18 days, officials said.
A Bangladesh Nationalist Party minister claimed Saturday that the country’s media enjoy “complete freedom,” days after the Tarique Rahman government threatened news organizations with legal action for carrying former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s speech from New Delhi.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) official Tariqul Alam Tenzing questioned whether Sheikh Hasina actually delivered a recent speech linked to an event in India, suggesting artificial intelligence (AI) may have been used to clone her voice.
Bangladesh’s government has drafted legislation to dissolve the Rapid Action Battalion and replace it with a specialized police unit called the Special Response Battalion.
Home minister Salahuddin Ahmed said Wednesday that the government would fully implement the July National Charter through constitutional amendments and institutional reforms.
Bangladesh will hold its presidential election on Aug. 20, with voting scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Election Commission announced Wednesday.
A large number of Bangladeshi television networks published hundreds of news segments on Aug. 5, but none of the networks provided viewers with meaningful details about Sheikh Hasina’s speech in New Delhi.
Six major Bangladeshi newspapers did not publish reports detailing fugitive former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Aug. 5 speech to journalists in New Delhi, a review of their websites found.
Bangladesh expressed “strong displeasure” after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was allowed to speak with media in New Delhi, saying her remarks harmed efforts to rebuild relations with India.
