The BNP is set to announce Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its candidate for the presidential election just before the deadline for submitting nomination papers, paving the way for the first contested presidential vote in 35 years.
Nomination papers must be submitted by 4:00pm on Thursday, while the BNP has called a meeting of its Standing Committee at 12 noon to formally announce its candidate.
The party has remained silent over its choice and authorised BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to select the candidate. However, several senior leaders have hinted that Fakhrul is likely to be nominated although the party collected two nomination papers from the Election Commission.
Speculation over Fakhrul’s candidacy intensified at the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD) Ministry, where senior officials were discussing that Thursday would be his last working day as a minister if he enters the presidential race.
The 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami has already announced Oli Ahmed as its candidate, ensuring a vote in parliament.
For the first time since 1991, the president will be elected through a direct vote of members of parliament. The country’s 23rd president will be elected on 20 August in the parliament chamber.
Nomination papers will be scrutinised on 16 August, while candidates will have until 4:00pm on 18 August to withdraw.
According to the Election Commission schedule, voting will take place from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on 20 August. Ballots will be counted in the same chamber after voting ends, and the chief election commissioner (CEC) will announce the preliminary result. The final result will later be published through a gazette.
A total of 349 MPs will cast their votes through an open ballot. Each voter must write their full name beside the preferred candidate’s name and sign the ballot paper.
Under Article 70 of the Constitution, any MP voting against the party decision risks losing their parliamentary membership.
If Fakhrul is elected president, discussions have already begun over his successor as BNP secretary general. Party leaders said the possibility of appointing Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed as acting secretary general is being seriously considered. He may remain in the post until the next party council elects a full secretary general.
First vote in 35 years
The last contested presidential election was held in 1991, when the ruling BNP nominated Abdur Rahman Biswas and the Awami League nominated former chief justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury. With a parliamentary majority, Abdur Rahman Biswas won by 92 votes.
Since then, all presidential elections were uncontested. In 1996, Shahabuddin Ahmed was elected unopposed after the BNP did not nominate a candidate.
In 2001, BNP nominated AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, who also won unopposed. He later resigned amid opposition from within the party. A fresh election was held the following year, when BNP nominated Iajuddin Ahmed, while the opposition again stayed away.
After the Awami League returned to power in 2009, Zillur Rahman became president. Abdul Hamid was elected unopposed in 2013 and 2018, while Md Shahabuddin also won unopposed in 2023.
This time, the opposition alliance’s decision to field a candidate means the formal voting process will return.
With the ruling party holding 259 seats and the opposition 90, the ruling party candidate has a clear numerical advantage. The constitutional restriction on voting against party decisions also makes a surprise outcome unlikely.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the open ballot system would make it clear who voted for whom.
Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said MPs would vote from their seats in the parliament chamber. Election Commission officials will deliver ballot papers, which MPs will deposit into one of three transparent ballot boxes after voting.
A four- to five-member counting team will count the ballots immediately after voting ends at 5:00pm. The CEC will announce the valid and invalid votes and each candidate’s vote count.
The ballot paper will have two sections: one containing the voter’s details and signature space, and the other listing the names of candidates. Voters will have to write their full names beside their preferred candidate and sign.
Twenty Election Commission officials and employees will be deployed for the election, while election commissioners will oversee the process. The Election Commission and National Parliament Secretariat will jointly coordinate arrangements.
The voting and counting will take place in the presence of the media, with arrangements for live broadcasting from parliament.
The country’s 22nd president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, resigned on 24 July. Since then, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has been serving as acting president.
