Bangladesh’s ruling Nationalist Party (BNP) on Thursday nominated its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its candidate for the country’s presidency, putting the 78-year-old veteran politician in a strong position to become the next head of state.
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The presidential election is scheduled to be held on August 20.
“It is with great pleasure that I announce on behalf of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party that our dedicated secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, has become the BNP’s presidential candidate,” senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said. If elected, Alamgir will become Bangladesh’s 23rd president.
The nomination was announced following a meeting of senior BNP leaders with Prime Minister and party chairman Tarique Rahman, news agency PTI reports.
Presidential election follows Shahabuddin’s resignation
The election was necessitated by the resignation of former president Mohammed Shahabuddin, who stepped down on July 24 citing serious health problems, around two years before his five-year term was due to end. However, some reports had alleged tensions with BNP-led government and that he had contacted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a claim he dismissed as “baseless”.
Under the Constitution, a new president must be elected within 90 days of the office falling vacant. Parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is currently serving as acting president.
An economist by training, Alamgir began his political career as a left-leaning student activist when Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan. He joined the BNP in the early 1990s. He became the party’s acting secretary general in 2011 and formally took over the post in 2016.
The BNP, which won the February 12 general election, currently holds a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Since Bangladesh’s president is elected by Parliament, Alamgir is considered to be in a strong position to secure the post.
