BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has called an emergency meeting of the party’s Standing Committee on Thursday to finalise its candidate for the upcoming presidential election.
The meeting will be held at noon at the BNP chairman’s office in Gulshan, with the party’s senior leaders expected to attend, according to BNP sources.
The sources said the meeting will finalise the party’s presidential candidate, after which the BNP will submit the nomination to the Election Commission.
The presidential election is scheduled for 20 August.
A special session of parliament has been convened to elect a successor to former president Mohammed Shahabuddin, who resigned from office.
Voting will take place at the parliament building from 2pm to 5pm on the day, according to the information provided.
Fakhrul likely to get BNP nomination
Several senior BNP sources said party Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is likely to be the party’s presidential candidate.
They said Tarique Rahman has already made a decision in this regard and that the party’s preparations are centred on Fakhrul’s candidacy. However, the final decision is expected to be formalised at Thursday’s Standing Committee meeting.
If Fakhrul is elected president, his departure would create vacancies in several key positions, including the BNP secretary general’s post, the local government ministry and the Thakurgaon-1 parliamentary seat.
The possibility has already triggered discussions within and outside the party over who could succeed him in those positions.
The presidential election will be held through voting by members of parliament.
