Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been elected president of Bangladesh, comfortably defeating retired Col. Oli Ahmed, the candidate backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami-led opposition alliance.
The 78-year-old Fakhrul secured 255 votes, while Ahmed received 88, according to local media reports. A total of 349 lawmakers, including the prime minister, opposition leader and 50 lawmakers holding reserved seats for women, participated in the vote.
The new president is scheduled to take the oath of office on Friday, according to the Election Commission.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin presided over the parliamentary vote, which marked the first contested presidential election in Bangladesh in 35 years. During that period, opposition candidates had not challenged for the largely ceremonial five-year office.
Fakhrul, the BNP’s secretary general, became one of the party’s most prominent leaders during a turbulent period in its history. He effectively led the party while former chairperson Khaleda Zia was imprisoned and Tarique Rahman spent 17 years in exile in Britain, much of it during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year rule.
His opponent, Liberal Democratic Party Chairman Oli Ahmed, was supported by an 11-party opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami. A former BNP politician and close associate of slain president Ziaur Rahman, Ahmed left the BNP and later helped establish the Liberal Democratic Party in 2006.
The presidential election followed the resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24, two years before the scheduled completion of his term. Shahabuddin, who served during Hasina’s Awami League government, cited health reasons for stepping down.
Parliament Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed subsequently assumed the responsibilities of interim president pending the election of a successor.