The election for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Board of Directors is underway at the boardroom of the BCB headquarters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Voting began at 10:00am on Sunday and will continue until 4:00pm.
Councilors from three categories will elect 23 directors, while the remaining two directors will be nominated by the National Sports Council (NSC).
Despite the significance of the election, there is little sense of competition around the process as most directors are being elected unopposed. The first vote of the day was cast only 45 minutes after polling began. Security personnel have been deployed around the venue since the morning, while traffic movement has been restricted in the areas surrounding the stadium.
Voting will conclude at 4:00pm, with the results expected to be announced at 6:00pm.
In Category-1, which represents divisional and district sports associations, seven directors have already been elected unopposed. Saeed Bin Zaman and SM Abdullah Al Fuad have secured election from Dhaka Division without facing any challenger. Abdul Kaiyum Chowdhury from Sylhet Divisional Sports Association, Mir Shakhrul Alam Shimanto from Bogura District Sports Association and Mirza Faisal Amin from Thakurgaon District Sports Association have also been elected unopposed.
Only two divisions remain contested in this category. From Chattogram Division, Moin Uddin Chowdhury and Minhajul Abedin Nannu have already secured election. In Khulna and Barishal divisions, voting formalities remain. One director will be elected from Khulna Division, where two candidates are contesting for a single seat.
In Category-2, which consists of representatives from Dhaka Metropolitan clubs, 16 club representatives are contesting for 12 director positions. While the category is expected to feature a relatively transparent electoral contest, it lacks heavyweight candidates.
Seven members of the current ad hoc committee, including its chairman Tamim Iqbal, are contesting in Category-2. Most of them are known to have links with the ruling political establishment.
Among the club representatives, Fahim Sinha of Abahani Limited and Masuduzzaman of Mohammedan Sporting Club are considered strong favourites for election. Former Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal, representing Old DOHS, Rafiqul Islam Babu of Indira Road Krira Chakra, along with former directors Shaniyan Tanim and Saim Ibrahim Ahmed, are also widely expected to secure seats.
The remaining positions are likely to be contested by Amzad Hossain, Sakif Ahmed Salam and Dr Sarkar Mahbub Ahmed Shamim.
In Category-3, former director Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir was elected unopposed after becoming the sole candidate to submit a nomination. No other nominations were filed in the category.
A total of 39 applications have been submitted for e-voting, which has been introduced to facilitate councilors who are unable to attend the polling centre in person.
The election follows the dissolution of the previous BCB board by the NSC on April 7 after findings of electoral manipulation, irregularities and a lack of transparency in the last BCB election. Following the board’s removal, the NSC appointed an 11-member ad hoc committee headed by Tamim Iqbal.
One of the committee’s primary responsibilities was to organise fresh elections at the earliest opportunity. While it has fulfilled that mandate, the political affiliations of several candidates and the largely uncontested nature of the election have raised questions about the competitiveness and credibility of the process.
A total of 25 directors will make up the new board. Ten directors will come from Category-1, 12 from Category-2 and one from Category-3, while the remaining two directors will be nominated by the NSC.
