The oath-taking ceremony of newly elected President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will be held at Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall on Friday evening, with all preparations completed.
President’s Press Secretary Md Sarwar Alam confirmed that arrangements for the ceremony had been finalised. He said the Cabinet Division was coordinating the event.
Cabinet Division officials said more than 1,200 guests had been invited to attend the ceremony.
Mirza Fakhrul is scheduled to take the oath of office at 7:30pm. Acting Speaker Kayser Kamal will administer the oath, while Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani will conduct the ceremony.
According to the invitation issued by the Cabinet Division, the programme will begin with the national anthem after the president-elect arrives at the Darbar Hall. This will be followed by a recitation from the Holy Quran before the oath is administered.
The presidential post fell vacant after Md Sahabuddin, the president elected during the Awami League government’s tenure, resigned on 24 July. Under constitutional provisions, a new president must be elected within 90 days of a vacancy.
The presidential election was held on Thursday, 20 August, at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2pm to 5pm. BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul contested against retired Colonel Oli Ahmad, the candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Of the 349 lawmakers eligible to vote, 343 cast their ballots. Mirza Fakhrul secured 255 votes, while Oli Ahmad received 88 votes.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin announced the results after the vote count at the parliament chamber on Thursday afternoon. The Election Commission later issued a gazette notification declaring Mirza Fakhrul elected as president.
The veteran BNP leader, who led the party through one of its most challenging periods, will become the successor to Bangladesh’s 22nd president, Md Sahabuddin, after taking oath.
The election was only the second contested presidential election since the parliamentary system was restored in 1991. The previous contested presidential election was held 35 years ago, when candidates from both the BNP and Awami League took part.
