Bangladesh To Elect President Today After 35 Years

Bangladesh is set to hold a competitive presidential election today (Thursday), 35 years after the country last witnessed a contested race for the presidency.

Voting for the country’s 23rd president will take place in the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2pm to 5pm, with BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami’s candidate, Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, contesting the election.

Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin, the election officer for the poll, will count the ballots in the parliamentary chamber after voting ends and announce the result.

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said voting would take place in the parliamentary hall where lawmakers normally attend sessions. Each MP will receive a ballot paper and cast a vote by signing beside the preferred candidate’s name before placing it in a ballot box.

Three ballot boxes will be placed at the polling venue, with ballot papers distributed in stages to avoid overcrowding. Officials from the Election Commission and Parliament Secretariat will oversee the voting process.

Important parts of the election, including the opening stage of voting, the final stage, ballot-box opening, counting and announcement of the result, will be broadcast live.

The elected president is scheduled to take oath at Bangabhaban at 7:30pm on Friday (August 21).

A key issue in this election is Article 70 of the Constitution. Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni has said the provision will remain applicable to the presidential election. Under the provision, an MP who votes against their party could lose their parliamentary seat.

Speaking at a briefing at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon on Wednesday, CEC Nasir Uddin described the election as historic. He said the resignation of a president before the end of his term and the return of a competitive presidential election after a long gap had generated considerable public interest.

The CEC noted that Bangladesh has not held a competitive presidential election since 1991. Although there is some institutional experience gap after such a long interval, the Election Commission has made the necessary preparations, he said.

According to the Election Commission, Parliament has 350 members, including reserved seats for women. However, with BNP lawmaker Aslam Chowdhury’s membership cancelled by a court, 349 MPs are eligible to vote in this election.

After voting ends at 5pm, counting will begin immediately and the result will be announced at the Parliament building. The Election Commission will subsequently issue a gazette notification in the name of the elected president.

BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance’s Col (retd) Oli Ahmed are the only two candidates. Neither withdrew their nomination within the stipulated deadline, leaving the election to be decided between them.

With the BNP holding more than a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Mirza Fakhrul is widely expected to win the election.

Opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party convener Nahid Islam said the alliance decided to contest despite the expected outcome because a competitive election was important for democracy and would allow the opposition to present its political position to the public.

The last competitive presidential election was held in 1991 following the mass uprising of 1990. BNP nominated Abdul Rahman Biswas, while the Awami League fielded former chief justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury. Biswas won that election.