BNP set to nominate Fakhrul as presidential candidate on 12 Aug

The BNP is set to nominate its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its candidate for the country's next president, according to multiple members of the party's standing committee.

The Prime Minister and BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has finalised Fakhrul's nomination, and the party is expected to make the decision official on 12 August, several standing committee members disclosed the information today (9 August).

Fakhrul currently serves as the minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.

On 1 August, after a meeting of the BNP Standing Committee at the party chairman's political office, Fakhrul said the responsibility for selecting the party's presidential candidate and deciding other election-related matters had been entrusted to BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman.

Meanwhile, the BNP today collected two nomination papers from the returning officer's office for the presidential election. 

Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni and BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi collected the forms on behalf of the party.

The announcement comes as an 11-party opposition alliance has nominated Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmed as its presidential candidate.

NCP Convener Nahid Islam announced Oli Ahmed's nomination at a press conference at the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition on Minto Road in Dhaka today. 

The decision was taken at a meeting of the alliance's top leaders earlier in the day, chaired by Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer and Leader of the Opposition Shafiqur Rahman.

Presidential election on 20 August

The Election Commission has set 20 August for voting in the presidential election.

According to the schedule, candidates must submit their nomination papers by 13 August. Scrutiny will take place on 16 August, while 18 August is the deadline for withdrawing candidacies.

Each nomination paper must have a proposer and seconder who are members of parliament. A candidate may submit more than one nomination paper, but only one will remain valid after scrutiny.

If only one candidate remains, they will be elected unopposed. If there are multiple candidates, voting will be held in the parliament chamber on 20 August.

The BNP holds a two-thirds majority in parliament, making its nominated candidate the likely winner if the party maintains its position.

Election follows Shahabuddin's resignation

The election is being held following the resignation of 22nd President Mohammed Shahabuddin on 24 July, citing serious illness.

Under the Constitution, a new president must be elected within 90 days of the office becoming vacant.

Until a new president is elected, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed is serving as acting president, while Deputy Speaker Kaiser Kamal is performing the speaker's duties.

Shahabuddin was elected president in 2023 after submitting his nomination paper at the office of the chief election commissioner.

Mirza Fakhrul's political career

Born on 26 January 1948 in Thakurgaon, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir studied economics at the University of Dhaka, where he completed both his bachelor's honours and master's degrees.

He began his career in 1972 as a lecturer at Dhaka College under the Bangladesh Civil Service Education Cadre and later taught at several government colleges.

Fakhrul's political involvement began during his student years at the University of Dhaka in the 1960s.

He joined the East Pakistan Students Union, the student wing of the East Pakistan Communist Party, and served as secretary general of the organisation's SM Hall unit before becoming president of its Dhaka University unit in 1969 during the mass movement against President Ayub Khan.

He was arrested and imprisoned for political reasons during that period.

During his government service, he worked as deputy director at the Directorate of Inspection and Audit and at the Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO.

Between 1979 and 1982, he also served as private secretary to then Deputy Prime Minister SA Bari during the administration of President Ziaur Rahman.

He resigned from government service in 1986 and entered active politics.

In 1988, he was elected chairman of Thakurgaon Pourashava as an independent candidate.

He joined the BNP during the anti-Ershad movement in the early 1990s and became president of the party's Thakurgaon district unit in 1992.

In the 2001 general election, he was elected as a BNP candidate from Thakurgaon-1.

During the BNP-led government from 2001 to 2006, he served as state minister for agriculture and later as state minister for civil aviation and tourism.

He contested the 2008 parliamentary election and later became the party's senior joint secretary general in 2009.

Fakhrul served as BNP's acting secretary general from March 2011 before being appointed secretary general on 30 March 2016, a position he continues to hold.