Bangladesh set for first contested presidential election in 35 years

Dhaka: Bangladesh is set to elect a new president on Thursday, with ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir emerging as the frontrunner in the country's first contested presidential election in 35 years.

Lawmakers will choose between 78-year-old Alamgir and Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, 84, the chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.

Voting is scheduled to take place at the Jatiya Sangsad from 2 pm to 5 pm, according to the Election Commission.

The commission declared the nomination papers of both candidates valid on August 16.

The election is the first contested presidential poll in Bangladesh since 1991. The presidency has largely been filled through consensus or uncontested elections in the decades since.

Addressing the BNP parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, Alamgir urged lawmakers to support his candidature.

"If I have made any mistake or unintentionally hurt anyone during my tenure, I seek forgiveness," said Alamgir, who has served as the BNP's senior joint secretary general, acting secretary general and secretary general.

Several lawmakers who attended the meeting said the veteran leader became emotional and broke down in tears several times.

Alamgir also pledged that he would never compromise on Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty.

The president-elect is scheduled to take oath on Friday evening at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban, The Daily Star reported, citing sources at the Secretariat and Parliament Secretariat.

The election became necessary after Mohammed Shahabuddin, a close aide of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned last month on health grounds before completing his five-year term.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, who also serves as BNP chairman, nominated Alamgir as the party's presidential candidate. Alamgir is a longtime BNP secretary general and a close associate of former prime minister Khaleda Zia.

Under Bangladesh's Constitution, a new president must be elected within 90 days of the presidency becoming vacant.

Parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is currently serving as acting president in accordance with the Constitution.

The president is elected by members of Parliament. The BNP, which came to power in the February 12 elections, holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament, giving Alamgir a strong advantage in the presidential contest.

If elected, Alamgir will become Bangladesh's 23rd president.

He has been among the BNP's most prominent leaders for more than two decades. He served as the party's acting secretary general from 2011 before formally becoming secretary general in 2016.

Alamgir played a key role in leading the BNP while its then-chairperson and former prime minister Zia was imprisoned and Rahman was abroad.

Bangladesh's president is largely a ceremonial head of state under the parliamentary system, although the office carries important constitutional responsibilities, including appointing the prime minister and chief justice.

The president is also the supreme commander of the armed forces, though those powers are generally exercised on the advice of the prime minister.

Political analysts, however, believe the presidency could gain greater importance under the caretaker government system recently reintroduced to oversee general elections. During such periods, the president's authority over the armed forces could become more significant.

Analysts also view Alamgir's nomination as a calculated move by the BNP. The party had promised in its election manifesto to strengthen the president's powers through constitutional amendments.

An economist by training, Alamgir entered politics as a left-leaning student activist when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan. Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 with India's assistance.

Alamgir joined the BNP in the early 1990s and later served as state minister for agriculture and civil aviation.

After the BNP returned to power in the February 12 elections this year, Alamgir was appointed local government minister.