FORMER Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was on Thursday elected as the country’s 23rd President, securing 255 votes in the presidential election held at the Jatiya Sangsad, the country’s Parliament.
Alamgir defeated Oli Ahmed, the candidate backed by the 11-party opposition alliance led by the far-right Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the country’s first major student-led political party, National Citizen Party (NCP), who received 88 votes.
A total of 343 members of Parliament cast their votes in the election, which was held from 2 pm to 5 pm (local time) under the supervision of Chief Election Commissioner ASM Nasir Uddin. The Chief Election Commissioner later announced the results declaring Alamgir as the newly elected President.
The election marked the first time in 35 years that more than one candidate contested the Bangladeshi presidential election. In previous polls, opposition parties had not fielded candidates, leaving only a single candidate in the race.
Alamgir’s election came after he was nominated by the BNP as its presidential candidate last week. Following his nomination, he resigned as BNP Secretary General and as a member of the party’s National Standing Committee. — ANI
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