Mirza Fakhrul Alamgir’s election marks a major change in his political role.
Alamgir secured 255 votes in Thursday’s presidential election held at the Jatiya Sangsad, Bangladesh’s Parliament. His rival, Oli Ahmed, the candidate backed by an 11-party opposition alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the National Citizen Party (NCP), received 88 votes. The voting took place between 2 pm and 5 pm local time under the supervision of chief election commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin. Of the 349 MPs eligible to vote, 343 cast their ballots. The election was held after Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned as President on July 24, citing serious health problems. Under Bangladesh’s Constitution, a new President must be elected by Parliament within 90 days of the office becoming vacant.
Thursday’s election was therefore held within the required period, ending the temporary arrangement under which the Speaker had been performing the President’s duties. The chief election commissioner later announced Alamgir as the winner. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced his nomination following a meeting of the party’s National Standing Committee near the Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office at the Secretariat.
Rizvi said the decision followed discussions with Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman. Bangladesh has elected senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its 23rd president, marking a significant shift for a politician who until recently held one of the party’s top organisational posts.