Election Commission (EC) has called for a meeting of members of Parliament (MPs) on 20 August for presidential election.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at 2pm in Parliament Chamber of National Parliament House in Shere Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.
Election Commission Secretariat issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday. EC Secretary Akhter Ahmed issued the notification on behalf of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin.
The notification said, in exercise of powers conferred by the Presidential Election Act, in continuation of the notification issued by Election Commission Secretariat on 6 August, and in consultation with Speaker, the meeting of MPs has been called on the scheduled voting day for presidential election.
Earlier, on 24 July, the 22nd President, Mohammad Shahabuddin, resigned citing illness. In this context, EC declared presidential election schedule, setting 20 August as the date of voting.
According to the schedule, submission of nomination papers for presidential election is on 13 August from 10am to 4pm. Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on 16 August, and deadline for the withdrawal of candidacy is 18 August, with voting scheduled for 20 August.
This time, BNP and Jamaat alliance fielded a candidate in presidential election. If the nominations of multiple candidates are validated, voting will be held for presidential post.
In that case, MPs will vote directly in a presidential election for the first time in nearly 35 years, as single candidates during this period have been elected unopposed.
