One of the biggest concerns this election is regarding observers, or more specifically, the number of observers participating. 25, 920 local observers have been cleared to monitor the polls, the lowest number of observers (barring the 2014 elections which saw even fewer numbers and was largely dismissed as a one-sided affair) going back to 1991.

This is the year when Bangladeshi millennials are eligible to go to polls. Star Weekend talked to young voters, many of whom will be voting for the first time, to understand what they think about the electoral process. The young voters also shared their hopes and aspirations regarding the upcoming polls, what issues they truly care about, and whether they will go to vote at all.

The first time I visited Satkhira, the tide country, was as a student of Environmental Science. And I remember returning with pages upon pages of focus group discussions with villagers who were living in homes that had been cut off from nearly everything because of water-logging. They talked of a life constantly battling a disaster.

Just over a year ago, a large number of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar crossed the border into Bangladesh and crowded into and around existing refugee camps.

11th General Election

During the Dhaka City Mayoral elections of 2015, Samakal's senior reporter, Amitosh Paul, was assigned to cover the polling booth at the Uttara Girls High School Centre. Inside, he noticed a group of men—belonging to the ruling party—misguiding a section of the voters.

There is something about biriyani er aloo that makes it a subject of universal adoration. But before I go rambling about my love for potato-cooked-to-perfection, here's some background story.

BAAGH NAMA

Christmas Carnival at The Courtyard Bazaar

These are the voyages of one intrepid couple. Our nine-day mission: to explore strange new places. To seek out new cultures and an old civilisation. To boldly go where few Bangladeshis have gone before! Queue music!

As 2018 wraps up, we decided to talk to some of our colleagues about the books that have accompanied them this past year. We started out trying to find recommendations hot off the press; but found out that it's been a year for older titles.

Every year on December 14, we remember martyred intellectuals with due solemnity, who lost their lives in 1971 at the hands of the Pakistani military and their local collaborators.

The first question that comes to our mind when we talk about the upcoming parliamentary elections is “How healthy is the democracy that prevails in our country right now?”

Since the Rohingya crisis began in Myanmar's Rakhine State, Bangladesh has engaged constructively with the government of Myanmar and the international community in order for Rohingya refugees to be able to safely and voluntarily return to their places of origin or choice in Myanmar.

Women's participation in the ready-made garments sector, and the importance of this sector to national exports and economic growth has contributed to changed perceptions of women's economic and public role and has provided women themselves with more options.

Hamida Begum's* husband had beat her yet again. But this time was different. He had also uttered talaq three times, essentially divorcing her according to the Islamic customs of the Rohingya community.

The fight between two factions of Tabligh Jamaat was really unexpected. People saw that the Tongi Ijtema Maidan turned into a battlefield where an elderly person died and more than 200 were injured.

Suicide has been skyrocketing over the past decade despite numerous preventative measures. Five DU students recently ended their lives.

The untimely demise of Aritry Adhikary, a ninth-grader of Viqarunnisa Noon School & College was saddening for our nation as a whole. Her tragic death should serve as a wake-up call for us.

The day after this article is published, three million Bengalis will have become stateless in India.