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Bangladesh is set to hold direct voting in Parliament today to elect the country’s next President, 35 years after the last contested presidential election.
Voting will take place in the Jatiya Sangsad chamber from 2pm to 5pm, with all preparations completed by the Parliament Secretariat and the Election Commission (EC).
A total of 349 lawmakers are eligible to vote in the election. The vote of any member who is absent from the chamber cannot be cast by another person, through an embassy or online.
The EC has said the result will be announced in the parliamentary chamber immediately after voting ends, followed by publication of the result in the official gazette.
The elected president is scheduled to take oath at 7pm on Friday, August 21, at Bangabhaban’s Durbar Hall.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance, are contesting the presidential election.
Their nominations were declared valid after scrutiny on August 16. The deadline for withdrawal of candidature expired at 4pm on Tuesday.
Mirza Fakhrul has the backing of 247 BNP lawmakers, with the BNP-led alliance commanding 250 votes.
Col Oli Ahmed is backed by the Jamaat-led alliance, which has 90 lawmakers, including 77 from Jamaat-e-Islami.
Of the 349 eligible voters, only nine lawmakers, including eight independents and one from the Islami Shashontantra Andolon, are outside the two major camps.
Given the BNP and its allies’ clear majority in Parliament, Mirza Fakhrul’s election appears highly likely. The key focus, however, will be the number of votes secured by Oli Ahmed and whether any lawmakers vote outside their respective party positions.
Under the law, each lawmaker will receive a separate ballot. The voter must write and sign their full name on the ballot and sign against the name of their preferred candidate.
As a result, a lawmaker who is abroad, ill or otherwise unable to attend the voting session cannot have their vote cast through another person or any alternative mechanism.
An absent member’s vote simply will not be counted. However, there is no specific provision in the law imposing a fine or cancellation of membership for failing to vote.
Tresury Bench Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni said lawmakers could not vote against their party’s decision.
He said voting for a candidate other than the one nominated by the party would amount to a violation of Article 70 of the Constitution, potentially resulting in the loss of the lawmaker’s parliamentary membership.
He also said a lawmaker who remains present but deliberately refrains from voting could be considered to have taken a position contrary to the party decision.
According to Parliament Secretariat records, the last contested presidential election was held in 1991.
In that election, BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League candidate and former Chief Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury.
No contested presidential election has been held since then. In subsequent elections, there was only one candidate, who was declared elected through publication of a gazette on the final day for withdrawal of candidature, making voting in Parliament unnecessary.
This year’s election is being conducted under the Presidential Election Act, 1991, with Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin serving as the returning officer.
An electoral meeting will be held in the parliamentary chamber, with the CEC presiding over the proceedings.
The CEC told journalists at a briefing at the Election Commission headquarters that all preparations for the election had been completed.
“Voting will take place from 2pm to 5pm on Thursday. Immediately after voting ends, the result will be announced in the parliamentary chamber and the gazette will subsequently be published,” he said.
The Parliament Secretariat has completed administrative preparations for the voting.
A coordination meeting was held with the chief whip and whips to ensure lawmakers’ attendance and maintain discipline during the voting process. Gallery passes have also been issued for journalists and guests.
The voting proceedings inside the parliamentary chamber will be broadcast live on Bangladesh Television (BTV), while security has been strengthened around the Parliament complex.
The BNP parliamentary party also held a meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, at the ninth floor of the Parliament complex.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the meeting discussed the presidential election in detail and lawmakers were given necessary instructions.
He said lawmakers were urged to vote for the party’s nominated candidate and attend Parliament on time.
The presidential election follows the resignation of former President Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24.
Under Article 54 of the Constitution, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed has been serving as acting president. The arrangement will remain in place until the newly elected president assumes office.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said preparations had been made for the elected president to take the oath at Bangabhaban at 7pm on August 21. The Cabinet Division will organise the swearing-in ceremony.
The election will therefore mark a significant return to direct parliamentary voting for the presidency, with two candidates competing for the country’s highest constitutional office after more than three decades.