Dhaka, 20 August (H.S.): Members of Parliament will elect the country’s 23rd President today, with a contest for the presidential post taking place for the first time in 35 years. A total of 349 MPs will be eligible to vote at the Parliament House between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, will face Colonel (Retd.) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of an 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

According to a report by the Dhaka Tribune, this is the first presidential election since October 8, 1991, in which more than one candidate is contesting the post. In the 1991 election, BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League nominee Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury. Since then, presidential elections under the parliamentary system have been uncontested.

The Parliament has 350 seats, comprising 300 general seats and 50 reserved seats for women. The Chattogram-4 seat is currently vacant, leaving 349 MPs eligible to vote.

The BNP has a clear majority in Parliament, making Mirza Fakhrul the frontrunner in the presidential race. Article 70 of the Constitution is also significant in this context. Under the provision, an MP elected as a candidate of a political party loses membership of Parliament if they vote against the party that nominated them.

The voting arrangements have been made in the main chamber of Parliament. MPs will indicate their choice before casting their ballots into the ballot box inside the chamber.

Voting will conclude at 5 p.m., following which the counting of votes will begin immediately. The Chief Election Commissioner will announce the result after the counting process is completed. The voting and announcement of the result will be broadcast live.

On the eve of the election, the BNP parliamentary party held a meeting at the Parliament House on Wednesday afternoon. The meeting was held at 4 p.m. on the ninth floor of the Parliament building and was chaired by Prime Minister and Leader of the House Tarique Rahman. Presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul also attended the meeting. Afterwards, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the election would mark an important turning point in the country’s democratic journey.

Since independence, Bangladesh’s system for electing its President has undergone several changes. The country’s first presidential election under a parliamentary system was held in 1974, when Parliament Speaker Mohammad Mohammadullah was elected President. In 1978, 1981 and 1986, Presidents were elected directly by the people. Ziaur Rahman won in 1978, Justice Abdus Sattar in 1981 and Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar