Dhaka: The ruling BNP and the 11-party opposition alliance, led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, submitted nomination papers for their respective candidates to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on Thursday for the presidential election slated for August 20.
BNP filed a nomination paper for its candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, while the 11-party combine submitted two nomination papers for its candidate Col (retd) Oli Ahmad.
A BNP delegation, led by its Standing Committee member Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, submitted the nomination paper to CEC AMM Nasir Uddin, who is serving as the returning officer of the presidential election, in the Nirbachan Bhaban at 2:24pm.
In the nomination paper, Moyeen Khan is the proposer of Mirza Fakhrul while Gayeshwar Chandra Roy is the seconder.
As BNP has an absolute majority in Parliament, Mirza Fakhrul is widely expected to be elected by the MPs in the race for Bangabhaban, the President’s official residence and office.
Earlier, BNP announced party’s Secretary General and Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul as its presidential candidate.
The announcement came after a high-level meeting of the party with its Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
Meanwhile, Mirza Fakhrul resigned from the post of BNP secretary general and the party’s Standing Committee.
The delegation members include BNP Standing Committee member Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Water Resources Minister Shahiduddin Chowdhury Anee, whips Miah Nuruddin Ahmed Apu, GK Gouse, ABM Ashraf Uddin (Nizan), Rakibul Islam and Akhtaruzzaman Miah, BNP joint secretaries general Habib Un-Nabi Khan Sohel and Abdus Salam Azad.
Meanwhile, two separate delegations of the 11-party alliance submitted as many nomination papers for its presidential candidate Oli Ahmad to the CEC.
In the first nomination paper, Jamaat Ameer Dr Shafiqur Rahman proposed Oli Ahmad as the presidential candidate, while National Citizen Party (NCP) lawmaker Abdullah Al Amin seconded the proposal.
In the second nomination paper, NCP lawmaker Mahmuda Alam Mitu is the proposer while Jamaat lawmaker Abdul Baten is the seconder.
EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed later confirmed that three nomination papers were submitted for the presidential election – one for Mirza Fakhrul and two for Oli Ahmad.
Addressing a press briefing after the deadline for submission of nomination papers expired, he said the nomination papers will be scrutinised from 10am on August 16, with a representative from the Parliament Secretariat present to verify the signatures of the candidates’ proposers and seconders.
Replying to a question over two nomination papers filed for Oli Ahmad, the EC secretary said, “We will scrutinise them. If the first one is rejected, we will scrutinise the second one.”
After submitting Mirza Fakhrul’s nomination paper, BNP leader Gayeshwar Chandra Roy welcomed the participation of the 11-party alliance in the presidential election.
“We welcome them. This is by no means an election merely to fulfil a formality. What is supposed to happen under the Constitution and the RPO is happening. Everything is being done by following the rules,” he said.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam said, “The beauty of democracy is that we are contesting and being elected.”
He said the current Parliament was formed through a neutral election after 17 years of movement and BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman is working to fulfil the expectations of the people.
Following the submission of the first nomination paper, Jamaat leader AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad said the 11-party alliance is contesting the presidential election despite lacking a majority in Parliament in order to uphold the “beauty of democracy” and restore democratic practices to the right track. “We want to create a new trend in democratic practice in Bangladesh,” he said.
“This is not about whether we will win or lose. We do not want any election to be held without contest. That is the beauty of democracy. We have taken this decision to restore democracy to the right track,” he added.
Describing Oli Ahmad as a decorated freedom fighter, Azad said he is a nationally respected figure who has remained above controversy and made significant contributions to the country over a long period.
“The nation is viewing this positively and appreciating the decision of our 11-party alliance,” he said.
However, the Jamaat leader said constitutional provisions (Article 70 of the Constitution that bars MPs to cross the floor) has created an obstacle to democratic practice in the presidential election.
Under Article 70 of the Constitution, lawmakers cannot vote against their party’s decision.
The 11-party alliance delegation members include Jamaat MPs Nurul Islam Bulbul, Nazibur Rahman and Mardia Momtaz, NCP Chief Coordinator Nasiruddin Patwary, NCP MPs Abdullah Al Amin and Mahmuda, Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party Vice-President Rashed Pradhan.
The EC on August 6 announced the schedule for the presidential election, fixing August 20 for voting.
The CEC convened a meeting of the Members of Parliament (MPs) at the session chamber of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban for voting from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on August 20.
According to the election schedule, the last date for withdrawal of candidature is August 18.
A total of 349 MPs are voters in the presidential election as the Chattogram-4 parliamentary seat remains vacant.
The voters include 247 BNP lawmakers, 77 Jamaat MPs, eight NCP lawmakers, eight independent MPs, three Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis MPs, and one each from Bangladesh Jatiya Party-BJP, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Ganosamhati Andolon, Khilafat Majlis, Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party.
Four parliamentary parties – Jamaat, NCP, Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis and Jatiya Ganatantrik Party – are the components of the 11-party alliance, giving the coalition a combined strength of 89 votes.
This will be the first presidential election in 35 years, which is going to involve more than one candidate. So, the voting is set to be held in the presidential election after 1991.
On July 24 last, Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned as President and Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad took charge as the acting President.
According to Article 123(2) of the Constitution, an election to fill the vacant office of the President must be held within 90 days of the post becoming vacant due to resignation.
