We have the pleasure of welcoming you to the special series of supplements beginning today to mark the 22nd birth anniversary of The Daily Star. The special series is being launched into the first quarter of what practically is an…
The 10th parliamentary election in Bangladesh will hopefully be arranged either in the last quarter of 2013 or in early 2014. Major stakeholders such as political parties and Election Commission (EC) are now taking preparations from their own perspectives for…
It has very often been said that the 20th century was the century of the common man. As one looks around, one wonders whether the common man in the past century was more a victim than a beneficiary. Nonetheless, the…
The 15th amendment of the Bangladesh constitution is perhaps the most debatable one in the post democratic era that follows the 1990 public upsurge against autocracy. The often pronounced justifications offered for this amendment is the ‘needs’ for returning to…
Let us be frank about the whole issue. The caretaker system of government is an idea which continues to arouse the most passionate of responses from people across the spectrum in Bangladesh. There are those who believe, and for very…
Illusions haunt democracies that do not work. Dysfunctional democracies subvert open societies and use the democratic structure as a façade for rule by a coterie. In consequence it becomes a sanctuary for covert dictatorship of a person, a group or…
Executive’s is a professional job: management of human, material and financial resources in order to achieve the objectives of the organisation. Chief executive’s job is particularly management intensive. He is expected to have some expertise in management built on professional…
Many coin the number 13 as “Unlucky” and it is not uncommon that some people tend to avoid special occasions like marriage and inauguration ceremonies etc. being held on the 13th day of the month. As Bangladesh celebrates the 42nd…
Article 11 of Bangladesh Constitution states that “The Republic shall be a democracy…” Democracy invariably requires the consent of the people, obtained through elections. Thus, elections are very essential initial steps for democracy, although they are not the only steps.…
WE have celebrated the 40th anniversary of our independence. This was achieved through a long struggle and a liberation war in which countless lives were sacrificed. What was achieved was the result of healthy and pro-people politics and dedicated political…
During the last two decades parliamentary elections have assumed significant dimensions in Bangladesh. They have been notably different (except the controversial 6th parliamentary elections held on February 15, 1996) from those of the past in substance and quality. All these…
The scrapping of all provisions relating to the non-party caretaker government for the conduct of Jatiya Sangshad elections has raised a storm of protest by the opposition political parties. The ruling Alliance has taken the firm position that the caretaker…
Elections are not mere rituals in democratic societies; they constitute the very essence of democracy. Any attempt to manipulate election is an attack on democracy. As the American statesman John Adams said, “We should be unfaithful to ourselves if we…
