Voting for Bangladesh's presidential election will be held tomorrow afternoon, while the newly elected president will take oath at Bangabhaban on Friday evening, Chief Whip of Jatiya Sangsad Md. Nurul Islam Moni announced today. He made the disclosure at a press conference at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban following a meeting of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Parliamentary Party.
Moni stated, "We will vote in the presidential election on Thursday afternoon after 35 years, Insha’Allah. Voting will begin at 2pm and continue till 5pm." He added that the Election Commission and Parliament had decided to broadcast the voting process live, starting five minutes before voting begins.
The live broadcast will include the voting of the Honourable President, Honourable Speaker, Honourable Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and BNP's presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. The proceedings will be recorded, and live broadcasting will resume five minutes before the conclusion of voting. The announcement of the election results will also be broadcast live.
The Chief Whip highlighted the significance of the event, saying, "You will see a historic moment tomorrow. A new journey of democracy will begin." He confirmed that the newly elected president would take oath at Bangabhaban at 7:30pm on Friday.
Referring to the leadership of BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman, Moni noted that the party had carried out a 17-year-long movement and struggle under his leadership before returning to government through a democratic election. He emphasized the party's commitment to establishing democracy and giving it an institutional shape, and the inclusive efforts of both the government and the opposition to maintain the country’s progress.
The presidential contest features two candidates: Dr. Oli Ahmad and Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. Moni expressed confidence that the people of Bangladesh would witness a transparent voting process and elect a new president. The BNP Parliamentary Party meeting, chaired by Prime Minister and Parliamentary Party Leader Tarique Rahman, concluded with the presence of presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other party members.
This marks the first time in 35 years that more than one candidate is contesting the presidential election, with a total of 349 members of parliament eligible to vote. The last contested presidential election by parliamentary vote was held on October 8, 1991, where Abdur Rahman Biswas of BNP defeated Awami League candidate Badrul Haider Chowdhury.
