The presidential election began this afternoon at the Jatiya Sangsad, with 349 lawmakers casting ballots to choose Bangladesh’s next president between BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and LDP candidate Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, who is backed by the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.
Polling began at 2:00pm and will continue for three hours.
At the outset, Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who is serving as the election officer for the presidential election, informed lawmakers of the names of the two candidates and explained the voting procedure.
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Photo: PID
He said Election Commission officials would deliver the ballots to the lawmakers.
The CEC said counting would begin after 5:00pm. The candidate securing the highest number of votes will be declared the winner on a preliminary basis inside the chamber, while the official gazette notification will follow later.
Under Article 10(1) of the 1991 Presidential Election Act, the president is elected by votes cast by members of the parliament. Lawmakers may remain inside the chamber during voting and counting.
The CEC requested MPs to sign their full names while casting their ballots.
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Photo: PID
Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad cast his vote, followed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni. After casting his ballot, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir shook hands with opposition leaders.
Acting Speaker Kayser Kamal, BNP leaders Selima Rahman, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Zahir Uddin Swapan, Abdul Awal Mintu, Nipun Roy Chowdhury, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Amanullah Aman also cast their votes.
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Photo: PID
Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman, Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Abdullah Mohammad Taher, and National Citizen Party lawmakers Hasnat Abdullah and Akhter Hossen also joined the voting process, casting their ballots.
Both polling and counting are being aired live on state-run BTV.
Following the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24, the Election Commission announced today’s poll schedule.
