The election for the vacant presidential post in neighboring Bangladesh will be held on the 20th of this month, the country’s Election Commission officially announced on Thursday.
Former President Mohammed Shahabuddin abruptly resigned from his post last month, citing ill health. Since Bangladesh’s constitutional provisions require that a new president be elected within 90 days, Chief Election Commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin has announced the election schedule after consulting with the current acting president and Speaker of Parliament, Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.
Accordingly, the filing of nominations for the presidential election will take place on Aug. 13, and the scrutiny of nominations will be held on Aug. 16. The last date for withdrawing nominations is Aug. 18; if there is a contest, voting will be held in the Parliament complex from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 20.
According to the Constitution of Bangladesh, it is the members of Parliament who vote to elect the president; however, the Election Commission conducts the election process. If only one candidate is nominated for the presidency by consensus, no voting will be held. The BNP, which holds a two-thirds majority in the 350-member Parliament, has not yet announced its candidate for the presidential election.
Background: In 2023, Mohammad Shahabuddin, who was elected president by the previous Parliament, had participated in the 1971 war of independence and is a former judge.
Even after Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government was toppled by the student protests held in July-August 2024, Mohammad Shahabuddin continued to remain in the presidency as the only person elected by that government.
His resignation came amid reports that Mohammad Shahabuddin had differences of opinion with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government currently ruling Bangladesh under Prime Minister Tariq Rahman’s leadership.
