The BNP has nominated its Secretary General and Local Government Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its candidate for president. The decision was announced at 1 pm today, following a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee.
The deadline for submitting nomination papers for the election of the country’s 23rd president is 4 pm on Thursday (August 13).
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC), nomination papers can be submitted between 10 am and 4 pm today.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on August 16, while the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy is August 18. Voting will take place in the parliament chamber from 2 pm to 5 pm on August 20.
The BNP has collected two nomination papers, while the 11-party alliance has collected one. The completed nomination papers must be submitted to the office of the returning officer at the Election Commission building by 4 pm on Thursday.
Bangladesh’s 22nd president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, resigned on July 24. The Election Commission subsequently announced the schedule for the presidential election, setting August 20 as the date for voting.
Mirza Fakhrul has resigned as BNP secretary general and Local Government and Rural Development Minister after being formally nominated as the party’s candidate for the presidential election.
BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi confirmed the resignations after a meeting of the party’s Standing Committee and senior leaders, telling reporters that Fakhrul had already stepped down from both positions.
Earlier, BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman formally announced Fakhrul as the party’s presidential candidate.
Fakhrul, 78, had served as BNP secretary general since 2016.