Nomination paper submission for the country's 23rd presidential election is underway today, starting at 10:00 AM and running until 4:00 PM.
Although the ruling BNP has not yet formally announced its presidential candidate, party sources indicate that BNP Secretary General and Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is set to be their nominee.
To finalize the candidate, party Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has convened a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee at noon today.
The party's official candidate will be finalized during this meeting and announced shortly after. Following the announcement, the BNP plans to submit his nomination papers at around 2:00 PM.
Meanwhile, the 11-party alliance led by the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami has collected nomination papers for Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman and Bir Bikrom Colonel (Retd.) Oli Ahmed. His nomination papers are scheduled to be submitted at 11:00 AM today.
According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC), the scrutiny of nomination papers will take place from 10:00 AM on August 16.
The final deadline for withdrawing candidacies is 4:00 PM on August 18, and voting will be held on August 20 from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Historical Context of Presidential Elections
Following the fall of the Ershad government in 1990, a parliamentary form of government was established in Bangladesh in 1991, with the presidential election held on October 8 of that year.
Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami abstained from voting in that election.
The BNP formed the government after winning the 5th parliamentary election, with the Awami League in opposition.
Because both parties fielded candidates, voting took place inside the parliament chamber for the first time.
BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas won with 172 votes, while Awami League candidate and former Chief Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury received 92 votes.
The 5th parliament consisted of 140 seats for the BNP, 88 for the Awami League, 35 for the Jatiya Party, 18 for Jamaat-e-Islami, 5 for BAKSAL, 5 for the CPB, 1 for the Islami Oikya Jote, 1 for NAP (Muzaffar), 1 for the Gano Tantri Party, 1 for the NDP, 1 for JSD (Shahjahan Siraj), and 1 for the Workers Party.
Alongside the 300 general seats, there were 30 reserved seats at the time. Out of a total of 330 members (elected and reserved), 66 MPs—including those from the Jatiya Party and Jamaat—abstained from voting.
Mihir Sarwar Morshed, a retired joint secretary of the EC who served as a polling officer during the 1991 election, recalled the experience from 35 years ago:
"That was the first time voting in a presidential election was conducted openly. Voters cast their ballots publicly, and election officials observed from a distance. Polling agents for both candidates could see who was voting for whom and took notes. The media reports published the following day on October 9 confirmed that the Jatiya Party, Jamaat, CPB, and Workers Party did not vote, and Abdur Rahman Biswas was elected president."
An analysis of the 1991 election data shows that all BNP MPs attended and voted for their party candidate. Independent members Nurul Islam Moni and Major (Retd.) Hafiz Uddin Ahmed also voted for him.
Gano Tantri Party's Suranjit Sengupta voted for Awami League candidate Badrul Haider Chowdhury, while Awami League's Akhteruzzaman Babu did not attend parliament to vote.
The Jatiya Party boycotted the election, and members of Jamaat and CPB abstained. Others who abstained included NAP's Abdul Hafiz, Workers Party's Rashed Khan Menon, NDP's Salauddin Quader Chowdhury, JSD's Shahjahan Siraj, and Islami Oikya Jote's Maulana Obaidullah.
Chief Election Commissioner Justice Abdur Rouf was present in parliament to conduct the election. Voting began simultaneously in four rooms inside the parliament chamber at 2:00 PM and continued without a break until 5:00 PM.
BNP Chairperson and then-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia cast her vote at 2:00 PM, after which she took her seat at the prime minister’s desk to observe party members voting.
Awami League Chief Sheikh Hasina voted at 3:34 PM. As the clock struck 5:00 PM, the CEC declared voting closed, and counting began at 5:05 PM.
The results were announced at 5:45 PM, and the EC published the election gazette the same day, confirming Abdur Rahman Biswas received 172 votes and Badrul Haider Chowdhury received 92.
The Current Electoral Landscape
After a gap of nearly 35 years, a contested vote for the presidency is set to take place once again.
While the BNP's parliamentary majority ensures the victory of its nominated candidate, the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami has also put forward a candidate.
The EC reports that out of the parliament's 300 general seats, one candidacy is currently cancelled, while there are 50 MPs in reserved seats, bringing the total number of MPs in the 13th Parliament eligible to vote in the presidential election to 349.
The party-wise breakdown of MPs includes:
The Election Commission is making comprehensive preparations to conduct the election smoothly.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed stated that August 20 will mark the resumption of voting for a presidential election after a long hiatus since 1991, adding that the voting process will be broadcast live and media seating arrangements have been organized.
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