Bangladesh holds first contested presidential election in 35 years
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Bangladesh is holding its first contested presidential election in 35 years, with ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir facing opposition nominee Oli Ahmad. A total of 349 lawmakers are eligible to vote in the parliamentary chamber on Thursday from 08:00 to 11:00 GMT, with results expected hours later, according to the Election Commission.
Key Facts
- Of the 349 eligible lawmakers, 247 belong to the BNP and 90 to the Jamaat-e-Islami-led opposition alliance, giving Alamgir a decisive numerical advantage.
- The last contested presidential election was in October 1991, when BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League nominee Badrul Haider Chowdhury by 172 votes to 92.
- The vote follows the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed in 2023 as the Awami League nominee and quit halfway through his five-year term.
- Alamgir, 78, became the BNP’s acting secretary-general in 2011 and was formally appointed in 2016, and now serves as minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives.
- Ahmad, 85, is a retired colonel decorated for service in Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, and a six-time member of parliament.
The Two Candidates
Alamgir, 78, is one of the BNP’s most prominent leaders and became the party’s acting secretary-general in 2011 before being formally appointed to the post in 2016. After the BNP swept this year’s parliamentary election, Alamgir became minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives. At a BNP parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, Alamgir thanked Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for the nomination and pledged not to compromise on Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty. Ahmad, 85, is a retired colonel and decorated veteran of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War who chairs the Liberal Democratic Party and is a six-time member of parliament. Ahmad joined the BNP in 1980 after leaving the army the year before and was once a close associate of former President Ziaur Rahman, father of current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Polling and Historical Context
A total of 349 members of parliament are eligible to vote in the parliamentary chamber on Thursday between 08:00 GMT and 11:00 GMT. The Election Commission expects the result hours after the voting window closes. Thursday’s vote is the first contested presidential election since October 1991, when BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League nominee Badrul Haider Chowdhury by 172 votes to 92. Every presidential election since 1991 was uncontested.
Post-Hasina Political Context
The election was triggered by the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed in 2023 as nominee of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party. Shahabuddin quit halfway through his five-year term after serving through Hasina’s removal in August 2024, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration, and the BNP’s return to power in February. The vote carries symbolic significance for a country reshaping its institutions two years after the 2024 uprising that ended Hasina’s iron-fisted 15-year rule.
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Bangladesh holds first contested presidential election in 35 years
