BNP nominates Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as Presidential candidate

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has finalized party Secretary General and Minister for Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its presidential candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

A senior BNP leader confirmed the development on Sunday, August 9, stating that party Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has virtually finalized Mirza Fakhrul's nomination. However, several other senior leaders noted that the final decision rests solely with Chairman Tarique Rahman, and they have not yet been officially informed of the choice.

Meanwhile, the party has initiated formal preparations for the election. On Sunday morning, BNP Vice Chairman and Chief Whip of the National Parliament Nurul Islam Moni, along with Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, collected two nomination forms from the Returning Officer's office at the Election Commission headquarters in Agargaon.

Read More: PM promises Industrialization to solve unemployment

Earlier, the BNP National Standing Committee delegated the authority to select the party's presidential candidate to party Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. Given the party's absolute majority in the National Parliament, the election of its nominated candidate as President is largely considered a certainty.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the presidential election is scheduled to take place on August 20, with voting taking place in the National Parliament between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM. If Mirza Fakhrul remains the sole valid candidate, no vote in Parliament will be necessary, and he may be declared elected uncontested.