Dhaka: A total of 349 members of parliament are eligible to vote in the Jatiya Sangsad chamber, with polling scheduled from 2pm to 5pm local time. The result is expected after voting concludes.
The election was triggered by the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24, midway through his five-year term. Shahabuddin had been elected unopposed in 2023 as the nominee of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League. Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has been serving as acting president since his departure.
Thursday’s election marks the first time since October 1991 that more than one candidate has competed for the presidency. In that election, BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League nominee Badrul Haider Chowdhury. Every presidential election since then had been uncontested.
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While the contest represents a historic moment for Bangladesh, the numbers heavily favour Alamgir. Of the 349 lawmakers eligible to vote, 247 belong to the BNP, while the Jamaat-led opposition alliance controls 90 seats, giving the ruling party candidate a commanding advantage.
The election nevertheless carries considerable symbolic weight as Bangladesh continues to reshape its political institutions two years after the 2024 uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule, followed by an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus and the BNP’s return to power following the February 2026 general election.
Alamgir, 78, is one of the BNP’s most prominent political figures. He became the party’s acting secretary-general in 2011 before formally assuming the position in 2016, emerging as a leading voice of the party during its years in opposition. Following the BNP’s sweeping election victory this year, he became Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
His rival, retired Colonel Oli Ahmad, 85, is a decorated veteran of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party and a six-time member of parliament. His candidacy is being supported by the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance.
Public opinion remains divided over the two veterans. Some Bangladeshis have praised Alamgir for his personal integrity and standing among constituents, while others favour Ahmad for his long political experience and have criticised the BNP’s record on promised state reforms.
