Voting Begins for Bangladesh's New President

Voting in Bangladesh's much-anticipated presidential election began Thursday afternoon at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban from 2pm to 5pm without a break.

Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmad and Acting Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal cast their votes at 2:10pm followed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir a minute later. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin briefed lawmakers on voting procedures beforehand.

This marks the first contested presidential election in 35 years, with Fakhrul facing Col (retd) Oli Ahmad candidate of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance. With BNP holding an absolute parliamentary majority, Fakhrul is widely expected to become the country's 23rd President. Under Article 70, MPs risk losing their seats if they vote against their party's decision.

The last contested presidential election was in 1991 when BNP's Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League-backed Badrul Haider Chowdhury, 172 votes to 92. Every election since has been uncontested.

A total of 349 MPs are eligible to vote as the Chattogram-4 seat remains vacant. This includes 247 BNP MPs, 77 from Jamaat and members from several smaller parties. The ruling BNP-led camp of 250 lawmakers is expected to back Fakhrul while the 90-member opposition alliance is expected to support Oli Ahmad.

Each ballot requires MPs to sign against their chosen candidate's name. Results will be announced in Parliament immediately after counting and published in an official gazette the same day.

The presidency became vacant after Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned on July 24 with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad taking over as acting president. Under Article 123(2) the election had to be held within 90 days. The newly elected president will take the oath of office at Bangabhaban on Friday evening.