The Election Commission (EC) has declared the nomination of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Oli Ahmed valid for the 23rd presidential election.

The scrutiny of nomination papers began at 11:06am today and is continuing, with the commission expected to announce its decision on Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir’s nomination at noon.

Candidates can withdraw their nominations by 4:00pm on August 18.

A total of three nomination papers were submitted for the election. The BNP submitted one nomination for Mirza Fakhrul, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance submitted two nominations for Oli Ahmed.

The nominations were submitted on Thursday.

Bangladesh will elect its 23rd president through direct voting for the first time in 35 years. Polling is scheduled for August 20 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm, according to the schedule announced by the EC on August 6.

There will be no regular parliamentary session on polling day. However, the EC will convene a special sitting of parliament to conduct the election, according to an announcement issued on August 12.

The same day, the EC published the voter list, naming 349 lawmakers who will cast their votes in three transparent ballot boxes.

According to the EC, MPs will sit in their designated seats in the House of Chamber, while Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin’s seating arrangement will be determined by the Parliament Secretariat.

By law, the CEC is the returning officer for the presidential election.

There will be no polling booths. The voting will be telecast live, with seating arrangements for journalists covering the election.