SRINAGAR: Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was on Thursday elected as Bangladesh’s new President, defeating Liberal Democratic Party chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed in the country’s first contested presidential election in 35 years.
The 78-year-old BNP leader secured 255 votes against 88 won by Ahmed, the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance, Chief Election Commissioner and Returning Officer AMM Nasir Uddin said.
Of the 349 registered voters, 343 cast their ballots, while six lawmakers did not vote, he said.
Alamgir will take oath as Bangladesh’s new President on Friday evening at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban.
The election was the first contested presidential poll in Bangladesh since 1991. The presidency has largely been filled through consensus or uncontested elections in the decades since.
The election was necessitated by the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, a close aide of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Shahabuddin stepped down on health grounds before completing his five-year term.
Alamgir’s election marks a significant political development in Bangladesh, with the BNP candidate securing the presidency after a closely watched contest.
