Dhaka, August 20: Bangladesh is holding its presidential election on Thursday, with lawmakers voting to choose the country’s next President in the first contested presidential poll in 35 years. The election is being held at the Jatiya Sangsad, with voting scheduled from 2 pm to 5 pm local time.
A total of 349 members of Parliament are eligible to cast their votes in the election. The contest is between ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, who is contesting as the nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.
Alamgir, 78, is a senior BNP leader and currently serves in the government led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Oli Ahmed, 84, is a former army officer, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party and a veteran of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War.
The election was necessitated by the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin last month. Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed in 2023, stepped down before completing his five-year term, prompting the Election Commission to announce a fresh presidential election schedule.
Thursday’s election is significant because it is the first time since October 1991 that Bangladesh has had more than one candidate contesting the presidency. All presidential elections held in the intervening years were uncontested. In the 1991 election, BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League-backed candidate Justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury.
Despite the contest, Alamgir is widely expected to win because the BNP holds a commanding majority in Parliament. Of the 349 lawmakers eligible to vote, 247 belong to the BNP, while 90 are from the Jamaat-led opposition alliance. Under Article 70 of Bangladesh’s Constitution, lawmakers are required to follow their party’s decision when voting.
The presidential election is therefore viewed largely as a formal contest, although its political significance is considerable as Bangladesh continues to reshape its institutions following the political upheaval that ended Sheikh Hasina’s long tenure as Prime Minister in 2024.
The Election Commission is conducting the ballot through an open voting system in Parliament. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin is serving as the election officer and is expected to announce the result after the votes are counted. The result will subsequently be published in the official gazette.
The president-elect is scheduled to take oath on Friday evening at Bangabhaban in Dhaka. The new President will serve as the country’s constitutional head while executive authority remains primarily with the Prime Minister and the government under Bangladesh’s parliamentary system.
The presidential vote is being closely watched as another important political development in Bangladesh following the February 2026 parliamentary election and the return of the BNP to power. The outcome is expected to provide continuity to the country’s new political administration.
