Bangladesh set to get a new president today

Bangladesh is set to get a new president on Thursday, with lawmakers voting for the country’s head of state for the first time in 35 years in a contest that ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is virtually certain to win.

A total of 349 members of parliament are eligible to vote between 2pm and 5pm at the Jatiya Sangsad. The new president will take oath at Bangabhaban at 7pm on Friday.

Fakhrul, the BNP’s outgoing secretary general and minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, is running against Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmad, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance.

The outcome is virtually predetermined. The BNP has 247 lawmakers, compared with 90 from the opposition alliance, giving Fakhrul a decisive advantage.

The election is nevertheless significant because it is the first contested presidential vote since 1991. After the restoration of the parliamentary system that year, seven successive presidents were elected without a vote because they were the sole candidates.

Lawmakers will vote in the parliamentary chamber. The voting process will be overseen by Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin, who is serving as the election officer. Voting and the counting process will be partly broadcast live.

The election follows the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24. The Election Commission announced the timetable on August 6, with both Fakhrul and Oli Ahmad’s nominations later declared valid.

On Wednesday, Fakhrul made an emotional farewell to BNP lawmakers, breaking down in tears and seeking their prayers and votes. He later posted a farewell message on Facebook as he prepared to leave the party leadership.

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