Thakurgaon-1 by-election to be held on Oct 29

The by-election to the Thakurgaon-1 parliamentary constituency will be held on Oct 29, about three weeks after Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir assumed office as president.

The Election Commission announced the schedule on Thursday after finalising the election timetable.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said candidates will have until Sept 27 to submit their nomination papers to the returning officer. The nominations will be scrutinised on Sept 29, while the deadline for withdrawing candidacies is Oct 7.

Election symbols will be allotted on Oct 8, with voting scheduled for Oct 29.

Fakhrul, who won the Thakurgaon-1 seat in the February national election, was elected president by parliament on Aug 20 and took the oath the following day. The Parliament Secretariat subsequently declared the seat vacant.

Under Article 50(4) of the Constitution, a lawmaker’s seat becomes vacant on the day they assume the presidency. Article 123(4) requires a by-election to be held within 90 days of a parliamentary seat falling vacant.

Opposition Jamaat-e-Islami has already nominated Delawar Hosen as its candidate for the seat. His nomination was announced on Aug 30. He also contested the constituency in the Feb 12 national election.

President Fakhrul’s younger brother Mirza Faisal Amin and elder daughter Shamaruh Mirza are among the names being considered as possible BNP candidates.