Mohammedan Sporting Club Limited is set to hold its annual general meeting (AGM) and the much-awaited election on March 9 at Dhaka Club Limited, ending a five-year gap since the last polls.

A total of 371 members, including three donor members, will cast their votes to elect a 17-member board of directors -- comprising 16 directors and one president. The last election was held on March 6, 2021.

“Although there are regulations to hold elections every two years, nearly five years have passed,” said MSC’s chief election commissioner Barrister Ruhul Quddus Kazal while addressing a press briefing at the club premises today.

Explaining the delay, Kazal said that since Mohammedan SC was converted into a limited company, court permission became mandatory to arrange elections once the timeframe stipulated by the Companies Act had expired.

“The court has now mandated that the election be held by March,” he added.

The draft voters’ list was published on Sunday, while nomination papers will be sold on February 24 and 25. Candidates are scheduled to submit their nomination papers on March 1.

Following scrutiny, objections and withdrawal of candidatures on March 3, the final list of candidates will be published on March 4 ahead of the March 9 polls.

“On behalf of the commission, I want to assure the media that this election will be conducted with absolute neutrality. Our core commitment is to organise a free and fair election,” Kazal stated.

Former director-in-charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan, now serving as member secretary of the AGM preparation committee, expressed hope that a fair election will be held and that the new board of directors will take Mohammedan SC to greater heights.