Md Ali Afzal has been elected president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) for the 2026–2028 term, with Abdur Razzaq securing the post of senior vice president, according to preliminary election results announced early Sunday.
The election commission completed manual vote counting around 1:00 am after day-long voting on Saturday and declared the initial results.
Afzal received 232 votes to win the presidency.
Razzaq secured 216 votes in a closely contested race for senior vice president.
High voter turnout and active participation by candidates marked the election, reflecting strong engagement across the sector.
Mohammad Akhtar Biswas was elected vice president-1 with 250 votes.
Abu Khalid Md Barkatullah won vice president-2 with 255 votes, while A F M Ubaidullah secured vice president-3 with 234 votes.
Dr Md Harun Or Rashid was elected vice president for finance with 262 votes.
In Chattogram, Mohammad Morshedul Hasan drew attention by securing the highest vote count of 317 to win the regional vice president post.
Among directors, Mohammad Labib Billah topped the list with 338 votes, one of the highest tallies in the election.
Umme Jahan Arju and Habibur Rahman Habib each received 304 votes, placing second and third respectively.
Other elected directors are AZM Kamruddin, Captain Md Shah Alam, Md Khaja Najibullah, Sheikh Kamal, Md Emdadul Hossain Sohel, N Joha, Alhaj Professor Md Faruk Ahmad, Tasnova Mahbub Salam, Md Zahir Ahmed, Md Zahid Hossain, Engineer Md Mostafa Kamal, Md Emdadul Haque, Md Mahbubur Rahman, M Fakhrul Islam, Engineer Manzurul Farhad Philip, Suruj Sardar and Alhaj Golam Kibria Majumdar.
From Chattogram, ASM Abdul Gaffar Miahji and Sarishta Binte Noor were elected directors.
Six members were also elected to the REHAB Chattogram Regional Committee: Noor Mohammad, Engineer S K Nazim Uddin, Syed Irfanul Alam, Ashish Roy Chowdhury, Hrishikesh Chowdhury and S M Shahidullah.
Three panels contested the election.
The Progressive Housing Business Forum secured 15 posts, including president, senior vice president, vice president for finance, vice president-2, vice president-3 and 10 director positions.
The Housing Business Unity Forum won 14 posts, including vice president-1, vice president for Chattogram and 12 director positions.
No candidate from the Jagaran Panel was elected.
The new leadership said it would work with developers, buyers, investors and public and private institutions to address long-standing industry challenges.
Key issues include policy complexities, high registration costs, limited bank financing and slow approval processes.
The committee is expected to prioritise creating a business-friendly and investment-supportive environment, ensuring modern urbanisation and expanding access to affordable housing.
Industry stakeholders said coordinated efforts and forward-looking leadership could help revive momentum in the housing sector and support broader economic growth.
