Meet Mirza Islam Alamgir and Colonel Oli Ahmed, nominees for Bangladesh presidential election

Bangladesh’s presidential election began on Thursday, with lawmakers casting votes to choose the country’s 23rd president in the first contested race for the post in 35 years.

Voting is being held at the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) and will remain open until 5 PM local time. A total of 349 lawmakers are eligible to vote in the open-ballot election.

The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has fielded 78-year-old Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, while 84-year-old Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is contesting as the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.

The Election Commission is expected to declare the results after counting the votes and subsequently publish them in the official gazette.

The president-elect is scheduled to take the oath as Bangladesh’s new president on Friday evening at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban.

Who is Mirza Alamgir?

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is a member of parliament from the Thakurgaon-1 constituency and serves as the Minister of Local Government. During his earlier stint in government from 2001 to 2006, he served as Minister of State for Agriculture and later held the same rank in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

The BNP presidential candidate was born on 26 January 1948 in Thakurgaon district to Mirza Ruhul Amin, a former member of parliament, and Mirza Fatima Amin, a homemaker. Alamgir is married to Rahat Ara Begum, who studied at the University of Calcutta and works for an insurance company in Dhaka. The couple has two daughters, Dr Shamaruh Mirza and Mirza Safaruh.

Who is Colonel Oli Ahmed?

Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed is a veteran Bangladeshi politician and the current president of the LDP. Born on 30 September 1941, he previously served as a BNP politician and lawmaker, holding several ministerial positions.

A decorated freedom fighter, Ahmed fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War and is regarded as one of the key founding members of the BNP. He left the party in October 2006 along with several senior leaders and helped establish the LDP, which he continues to lead.

In 2019, while serving as chief coordinator of the 20-Party Alliance, Ahmed launched the Jatiya Mukti Mancha movement.

Bangladesh presidential election

Bangladesh is witnessing its first contested presidential election since 1991, after the position was largely filled through consensus or uncontested elections in the following decades.

The election was triggered by the resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin, a close aide of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who stepped down last month on health grounds before completing his five-year term.

The Constitution mandates that a new president be elected within 90 days of the post falling vacant. The Election Commission subsequently scheduled the presidential poll for 20 August.

Parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is currently serving as acting president, in accordance with constitutional provisions governing a vacancy in the office.

Under Bangladesh’s system, the president is elected by members of Parliament. The BNP, which won the 12 February elections, holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament, giving its candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir a strong advantage.

Prime Minister and BNP chairman Tarique Rahman nominated Alamgir, the party’s longtime secretary general and a close associate of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, as the party’s presidential candidate.

Speaking at the BNP parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday, Alamgir urged party lawmakers to support his candidature by voting for him in the presidential election, as per PTI.

"If I have made any mistake or unintentionally hurt anyone during my tenure, I seek forgiveness," said Alamgir, who has held the posts of BNP Senior Joint Secretary General, Acting Secretary General and Secretary General.