After months of doubt and anxiety, the simple fact that Bangladesh is heading into a nationally competitive election at all is something worth acknowledging.

The late unveiling of manifestos by all major parties—whether by choice or due to poor planning—meant that the campaign largely devolved into a contest of personalities rather than a comparison of policies.

While the central government is supposed to frame policies, the local government bodies are tasked with implementing development programmes and delivering services to the people under their respective jurisdictions.

Bangladesh’s GDP in the fiscal year 2025 was $461.63 billion. If the country aims to reach a $1 trillion economy by FY2034, the economy would need to more than double over nine years.

This is not merely an election. It is a referendum on whether Bangladesh can govern itself without a strongman or a coup.

As Bangladesh approaches another parliamentary election, political rhetoric is intensifying, development pledges are being recycled, and candidates are once again courting voters with familiar promises.

For most of our lives, democracy existed as a concept we memorised rather than experienced.

Given the limited success of previous master plans in improving energy security and accelerating renewable energy, it is imperative for Bangladesh to design an inclusive policy formulation process.

The Trump administration, unlike the Biden administration, does not view foreign policy through a values-based lens.

“I will vote because I have to,” many women said across districts and age groups, often immediately followed by “but nothing will change.”

In late December, several houses of minority communities in Raozan and Rangunia upazilas of Chattogram were padlocked from outside and set on fire, forcing families to cut their way out to safety.

The proposed law aims to replace the University Grants Commission (UGC) with a new statutory regulatory body for overseeing universities and higher education governance in Bangladesh.

Unless education reform is placed centre stage, within a decade, Bangladesh will be locked in with a woefully undereducated workforce for years to come.

Perhaps the most striking, and largely unforeseen, consequence of the fall of the Hasina government has been the surge in support for Jamaat-e-Islami over the past 18 months.

But it also has a less discussed footprint: plastic flex, laminated posters, strings, tapes, and broken frames t

The interim government has entered a sensitive arena by approving a defence industrial zone in Chattogram’s Mirsarai.

Women’s cricket in Bangladesh has come too far to be pushed back by fear and silence.

I felt the first premonition on the night of “July 36.” In a post-rebellion Dhaka, festive streets, no certainty of what lay beyond that night—but hope permeated the air that perhaps we could finally recalibrate and aim for a dignified future.

Hopes are high for the rapidly approaching 13th parliamentary election and referendum on the July National Charter. A survey by Innovision last month found that 72 percent of Bangladeshis expect the interim government to administer the election impartially, and 82 percent feel they can safely cast their ballots.

When asked to comment on the recent trend of teacher harassment and forced resignation across university campuses, the University Grants Commission (UGC) chair and former vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Prof SMA Faiz, observed that rules alone could not ensure healthy teacher-student ties.