Bangladesh’s Election Commission has asked the National Parliament for the voter list as part of preparations for a presidential election, although no date or schedule has yet been fixed. Senior Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed disclosed the request while speaking to journalists at the Election Commission Secretariat on August 3. He said the commission had not determined any timetable for the presidential election but had sought the list in preparation for it.

Ahmed also said the government and the commission had not yet held discussions on local government elections, though the commission was maintaining its preparations. He indicated that the deadline for finalising the voter list might need to be extended if elections do not begin by October.

The extended deadline for registered political parties to submit their 2025 annual income and expenditure statements was August 2. Of 59 registered parties, 38, including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, submitted statements. Thirteen parties, including Gono Odhikar Parishad and Jatiya Party, sought more time. Eight parties, including the National Citizen Party, did not submit accounts.

Debate and public dissatisfaction over the political influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, are increasing in the United States. In a televised Democratic Senate candidates’ debate in Michigan, progressive candidate and former health official Abdul El-Sayed accused rival and four-term congresswoman Haley Stevens of relying on funding from AIPAC and other pro-Israel lobby groups.

El-Sayed said the key difference between the candidates was $46 million in AIPAC spending, while Stevens denied the allegation and said she was accountable only to Michigan residents. Analysts said the issue could significantly affect voter decisions in Tuesday’s primary. AIPAC has faced criticism from both left and right as international criticism has grown over Israeli military operations in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.

AIPAC has raised more than $47 million during the current election cycle. Its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, held about $83 million through June 30. Support for AIPAC also became a major issue in a New York City Democratic primary. Analysts say AIPAC remains a powerful US lobby, but changing public opinion and developments in the Middle East have created new challenges for its political influence.

Journalist leaders from Cox’s Bazar Press Club and the Cox’s Bazar Journalists’ Union visited the graves of five July uprising martyrs in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday, marking July Mass Uprising Day. The daylong programme also included meetings with relatives of the martyrs, including Wasim Akram, described in the report as the second martyr of the July movement.

The delegation first met the family of martyr Tanvir Siddiqui, including his father Badsha Mia, in Kalamarchhara of Maheshkhali before visiting his grave. It later visited Wasim Akram’s grave in Mehernama of Pekua and joined prayers there with local journalists present. The leaders also visited the grave of Ahsan Habib near Baitur Rahman Jame Mosque in Chakaria’s Fasiakhali Union and met his family.

Ahsan Habib’s father Mohammad Helal Uddin and younger brother Raihan Habib demanded exemplary punishment for those involved in the killing. In Eidgaon, the delegation visited the graves of Nurul Amin and Nurul Mostafa and gave gifts to their families. Further activities in the seven-day programme include graffiti drawing, poetry recitation, Quran recitation, a discussion meeting, prayers and participation in a government programme.

BNP Senior Joint Secretary General and the prime minister’s political adviser Advocate Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed warned that continued division and polarization could encourage Sheikh Hasina to seek a return to Bangladesh. Speaking on Monday at Bangladesh Medical University auditorium in the capital, he addressed the remarks to Jamaat-e-Islami during a discussion and documentary screening titled “Nurses’ Contribution in the Blood-Soaked July.”

Rizvi said the July revolution had a philosophical foundation tied to civil liberty, freedom of speech and the assurance of living without fear. He described the July mass uprising as the final expression of a 17-year blood-soaked movement, saying hundreds of leaders and activists from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, BNP and affiliated organizations had died. He alleged that Sheikh Hasina had used the state apparatus to shut down politics and civil rights.

He called on those entering politics to improve political culture and stop spreading hatred and division, saying otherwise the fall of authoritarianism would be rendered meaningless. Rizvi said BNP had supported the quota reform movement, complete shutdown and Bangla Blockade programs from the outset. He praised nurses for assisting injured people during the uprising and said the current government was working on health-sector reform and nurses’ professional development.

Jahangirnagar University unit of Islami Chhatra Shibir held the “July Uprising Run 2026” mini marathon on Monday, August 3, carrying the memory and spirit of the July mass uprising. The event, themed “Run Against Fascism,” was inaugurated at 6:30am from the university’s Central Shaheed Minar. The report’s headline said around 1,500 students took part.

University students, staff members and college students joined the event. The route began at the Shaheed Minar, passed the Faculty of Biological Sciences, Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall, cafeteria, women’s halls and Chourangi, and ended at the Shaheed Minar. Islami Chhatra Shibir central president Nurul Islam Saddam attended the opening as chief guest.

Saddam said expected structural changes, autonomous functioning of key state bodies, an end to corruption and transparency had not materialised after July, describing the period as only a transfer of power. University unit president Md Mostafizur Rahman said the event aimed to remember martyrs and the months of July and August, while sending a message to those who may seek to become fascist in the future.

Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan said the government wants to implement every letter of the July Charter and is committed to fulfilling all of its pledges. He made the remarks at a discussion meeting at the National Press Club around 11am on Monday, marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising. He said all implementation must proceed through parliament and that there is no scope to act outside it.

Swapan said efforts were being made to artificially take politics outside parliament. He said the BNP seeks cooperation from all parties to preserve the continuity of democratic culture. According to him, the national parliament should be the central focus of all political activity in the democracy achieved after extensive sacrifice.

The minister said the sacrifices of martyrs of the July mass uprising, the Liberation War and the Language Movement would be properly valued only when parliament becomes an effective democratic institution. He said parliament must be the centre of political debate, decision-making and state governance, adding that signatures on the July Charter carry a bond with the martyrs' blood.

National Citizen Party (NCP) Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary delivered remarks while wearing an eye bandage at a discussion meeting in the capital’s Diploma Engineers Institution (IDEB) on Monday afternoon. The event was titled “The People’s One-Point Demand in the Voices of Martyrs’ Families and the Injured.”

Patwary wore the bandage in protest over the reported loss of NCP member Alif’s eye in an attack by Chhatra Dal leaders and activists in Habiganj, according to the report. Explaining his action, Patwary said he had put on the bandage to express sympathy for Alif.

NCP convener and opposition chief whip in the national parliament Nahid Islam attended the meeting as chief guest. Other attendees included NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, northern region chief organizer Sarjis Alam, southern region chief organizer Hasnat Abdullah, spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan, Rokeya Begum, mother of martyr Jaber Ibrahim, National Women’s Power member secretary Dr Mahmudah Mitu, and chief organizer Nusrat Tabassum.

Abhijit Deepak, chief of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), said he is ready to release documents on his scholarship and education loan while challenging Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to disclose his educational degree. In a video message reported on August 3, 2026, Deepak responded after Surat-based right-to-information activist Amit Tiwari sought an investigation into his family’s financial situation.

Tiwari questioned how Deepak’s father, Bhagwanrao Deepak, a retired junior engineer at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, financed his son’s overseas higher education. In the video posted on X, Deepak said he was prepared to show his scholarship letter and education-loan papers, and asked whether Modi would show his original degree.

Deepak said debate should focus on access to education rather than questioning his studies, adding that there should be no problem with an ordinary boy studying at Boston University. The report also revisited the longstanding political dispute over Modi’s degrees. BJP leaders displayed copies of his BA and MA degrees in 2016, while opponents and critics have questioned their authenticity. The government has rejected an RTI request seeking Modi’s graduation certificate, the report said.

Student Dal activist Md. Opi Mia, 21, from Madhyanagar upazila in Sunamganj, was shot during a July movement procession in Ashulia on August 5, 2024. He survived after being taken rapidly to hospital by fellow activists, but continues to suffer physical pain and has not returned to normal life despite lengthy treatment. The report was published on August 3, 2026.

According to his family, a bullet entered below the left side of Opi's navel and exited through his back. Doctors performed two surgeries to save and treat him, and he spent nearly a year receiving hospital care before returning home. Opi is a resident of Dugnoi village, the younger son of late Sabuj Mia, a former upazila BNP president, and a second-year undergraduate student at Netrokona Government College.

Opi said pain at the surgical site can become so severe that he cannot get out of bed for hours, disrupting his daily activities and mobility. His elder brother, M. Shahid, said the family has spent substantial money on treatment. He added that Opi remains under medical supervision with regular treatment and follow-up care, and sought prayers for his recovery.

Eight registered political parties, including the National Citizens Party (NCP), failed to submit their 2025 annual income and expenditure statements to Bangladesh’s Election Commission by the extended deadline. Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed disclosed the information to journalists at the commission secretariat on August 3. The original July 31 deadline was extended through Sunday, August 2, because July 31 was a public holiday.

The parties that submitted no accounts were JAGPA, Trinamool BNP, Insaniyat Biplob Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Supreme Party, National Citizens Party, Am Janatar Dal and Janatar Dal. Of 59 registered parties, 38, including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, submitted their income and expenditure accounts within the prescribed period.

Separately, 13 political parties, including Gono Odhikar Parishad and Jatiya Party, sought additional time because they could not prepare their accounts by the deadline. According to the Election Commission’s senior secretary, the eight listed parties, including NCP and Am Janatar Dal, neither filed their statements nor were identified as having sought an extension.

The Port Protection Committee held a march in Chattogram demanding cancellation of the leases for Chattogram Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) and Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT). The march began from Agrabad Badamtali intersection toward the port on the morning of August 3, 2026. Police stopped participants at Barik Building intersection, where the programme concluded with a brief rally.

Engineer Delwar Majumdar, the committee’s convener, chaired the rally, while member secretary Fazlul Kabir Mintu conducted it. Former Labour Reform Commission member Tapan Dutta, former port CBA general secretary Kazi Sheikh Nurullah Bahar and leaders from labour, political and professional organisations spoke. Speakers described Chattogram Port as a core part of the national economy and an asset of millions of people.

They said no decision on the port’s future would be acceptable if workers’ views were ignored. While supporting modernisation, they said it should preserve state ownership and public interests. Majumdar announced a Port Protection Citizens’ Convention at 10am on August 15 at the July Hall of Chattogram Press Club, involving workers, professionals, businesspeople, academics, journalists and civil society representatives.

A section of Dhaka College Chhatra Dal put up posters declaring National Citizen Party chief coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary unwelcome on the campus, accusing him of spreading “propaganda” against the BNP. The posters were placed on Monday, August 3, at locations including the college administrative building and main gate. College authorities later removed them, citing the need to preserve a normal campus environment.

Sheikh Parvez Mosharraf, a suspended member of the Dhaka College Chhatra Dal convener committee who led the poster campaign, alleged that Patwary’s statements spread social hatred and that his political agenda was directed against the BNP. He said they had no objection if Patwary pursued healthy politics. On a possible visit by Patwary to the college, Mosharraf said they would welcome whatever decision general students made, while adding that his group had no plan for further action.

Sajib Uddin, member secretary of Jatiya Chhatra Shakti’s Dhaka College unit, opposed the campaign, saying the college was not anyone’s personal property and no one could be declared unwelcome there. Principal Professor A K M Ilyas said he had heard posters were present and that staff had been sent to remove them. He said the college did not want political unrest on campus.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan said Bangladesh must strengthen parliamentary democracy to properly honour the sacrifices of martyrs of the July uprising. He called for the elected national parliament to become the country’s central forum for political activity and policymaking. Swapan made the remarks on Monday at a discussion marking July Uprising Day at the National Press Club in the capital, organised by the Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists and Dhaka Union of Journalists.

He said political problems should be resolved through constitutional and democratic processes rather than outside parliament. Swapan described the loss of lives for voting rights and democracy as a matter of both pain and national self-reflection. He said the democratic mandate expressed through the uprising requires a more effective and stronger parliamentary system, with parliament serving as the highest democratic venue for debate, exchange of views and decision-making.

The minister also stressed strengthening an independent and dignified judiciary, good governance and constitutional democracy. He urged democratic political forces to work together with national unity, cooperation and tolerance. Swapan warned that intolerance, misinformation and instability on social media could weaken democracy. He said the government is committed to implementing every pledge of the July Charter through the parliament elected by the people.

Prashant Kishor, leader of the Jan Suraaj Party, was leading the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar after the ninth round of counting, according to an Election Commission update cited in a report published on August 3, 2026. Kishor had received 17,856 votes, while BJP candidate Neeraj Kumar was in second place, trailing by 5,272 votes. The RJD candidate was third.

The contest is Kishor’s first electoral bid after moving from election strategist to politician. His Jan Suraaj Party contested the 2025 Bihar assembly election, but Kishor did not stand as a candidate and the party won no seats. His decision to contest in Bankipur, described as a BJP stronghold, had surprised many political observers.

BJP’s Nitin Nabin had won Bankipur four consecutive times since 2010, including with more than 62 percent of votes in 2025. The by-election was called after Nabin became a Rajya Sabha member. If Kishor wins, it would be the first time BJP loses Bankipur. The report says the election follows nationwide protests over question-paper leaks and may indicate the mood of young voters.

Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said opposition leaders’ language on the streets was inappropriate and urged them to ensure their movement does not turn into conflict. He made the remarks at an event at the National Press Club on Monday at 11am, marking the second anniversary of the July mass uprising. He said protesting in the streets was the opposition’s right, but it should not develop into confrontation.

He said the BNP was being misrepresented as opposing implementation of the July Charter. According to him, the Consensus Commission imposed a referendum question and the nation had been deceived. He said the BNP had stated where it disagreed, while maintaining that the party would implement every part of the July Charter that it signed.

Fakhrul said a committee had already been formed to implement the July Charter. Differences had emerged over whether the process involved reform or amendment, and he said those issues should be discussed in parliament. He also said the government was not interfering with the media, denied factionalism within the BNP, and called for qualified people to be appointed at media institutions.