Category: Bangladesh

Overview. Political formations ahead of the upcoming national elections continues to dominate the conversation in Bangladesh. Election dates should have been announced by now, but we continue to wait. The most important political development last month was the formation of the Jatiya Oikya Front ("United National Front") on 13th October, led by Dr.…… Read the…

Overview. With the upcoming national elections absorbing the majority of the country’s energies, the reporting period featured few events of note. We anticipate that the specific date for the late December 2018 elections will be announced mid-to-late October, with election manifestos being published shortly thereafter. The general assumption is that Sheikh Hasina and the Awami…

Overview. Whilst Bangladesh continued to be socially and politically fractious during August, there were some interesting corporate developments in tobacco, pharma, and biscuits/confectionery. As mentioned in the previous report the city corporation elections were held on 30th July 2018. Voting day in Sylhet especially saw several incidents, with the BNP accusing the ruling Awami League…

Overview. The reporting period featured fractious mayoral elections in three key city corporations, student protests in Dhaka over road safety, and mooted tax rises to improve the country’s tax revenue to GDP ratio. With Bangladesh’s 11th national elections due to occur in Q4, campaigning by the various parties has been underway for some time. … Read…

Overview. The reporting period was dominated by the release of the 2018/2019 budget yet concerns remain over terrorism and political stability. Bangladesh is prone to regular periods of political instability involving frequent campaigns of street violence led by various political parties. The historic rivalry between the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Islamist opposition…