BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has won the election for the country’s 23rd President by a wide margin.

The veteran politician was congratulated with loud applause in parliament after his victory. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, who served as the election authority, announced the result.

After the result was announced, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir embraced, one after another, Opposition Leader and Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, Deputy Opposition Leader Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Opposition Chief Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam, and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, along with other members of parliament.

Voting in the presidential election took place at the Jatiya Sangsad from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on Thursday. Mirza Fakhrul, the BNP candidate, faced Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat. Of the 349 members of the current parliament, 343 cast their votes. Mirza Fakhrul received 255 votes and Oli Ahmed 88.