Special Correspondent

Bangladesh is set to hold a contested presidential election today, Thursday, for the first time in 35 years. Voting will take place in the Jatiya Sangsad from 2pm to 5pm, with 349 lawmakers eligible to cast their ballots.

Two candidates are contesting the presidency: ruling BNP nominee Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami. Given the BNP-led camp's numerical advantage in parliament, Fakhrul is widely expected to win.

Presidential Vote Will Not Be by Secret Ballot

The presidential election will not be conducted through a secret ballot. Lawmakers will have to write the full name of their preferred candidate beside the candidate's name on the prescribed ballot paper and sign it.

Members will cast their votes from their respective seats in the chamber. Before voting, they will collect their ballot papers after writing their full names and signing the counterfoil. They will then write their full names and sign at the designated place beside their chosen candidate's name on the main ballot.

Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin will oversee the entire process and serve as the election officer for the presidential election.

Who Can Vote

There are currently 349 presidential electors in parliament. Although the Jatiya Sangsad has 350 seats, including reserved seats for women, the result for the Chattogram-4 constituency has yet to be declared following a court order.

The BNP has 247 members in parliament. The party is also joined by one member each from the Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Gono Odhikar Parishad and Gonosamhati Andolan.

The 11-party alliance led by Jamaat has 90 members. They include 77 Jamaat lawmakers, one reserved-seat member from Jatiya Ganatantrik Party (Jagpa), eight members of the National Citizens Party (NCP), three from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis and one from Khelafat Majlis.

In addition, there is one lawmaker from Islami Andolan Bangladesh and eight independents.

BNP's presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is himself a lawmaker and will therefore be eligible to vote. Oli Ahmed, however, is not a member of parliament and cannot cast a ballot.

Limited Live Broadcast

Bangladesh Television will broadcast live the voting of the Speaker serving as acting president and the prime minister at the beginning of the process. The broadcast will then be suspended and resumed during the vote counting.

After counting the ballots, Chief Election Commissioner Nasir Uddin will announce the result in the parliamentary chamber. The election result will subsequently be published in the official gazette.

Oath-Taking Tomorrow

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said the newly elected president will take the oath of office at Bangabhaban at 7pm on Friday.

On July 24, President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected during the Awami League government, resigned from office. His resignation created a vacancy in the presidency and triggered the constitutional requirement to elect a new president within 90 days. The Election Commission announced the election schedule on August 6.

First Contested Election Since 1991

Following the restoration of the parliamentary system in 1991, lawmakers directly elected the president that year. BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas won with 172 votes, defeating Awami League candidate Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury, who secured 92 votes.

The subsequent seven presidential elections did not require voting because only one candidate contested each election, resulting in their election unopposed.

With the opposition alliance fielding a candidate this time, Bangladesh is once again heading for a contested presidential election after 35 years.

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said lawmakers would vote in accordance with their respective party decisions. He described the election as the beginning of a new chapter in the country's democratic process.