BNP Names Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as Presidential Candidate
DHAKA:
Rizvi, the BNP’s senior joint secretary-general, told reporters at the Secretariat on Thursday that BNP Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman finalised Fakhrul’s candidacy during a meeting with senior party leaders.
Fakhrul resigned from his positions as BNP secretary-general and a member of the party’s standing committee after being selected as the presidential candidate, Rizvi said.
Presidential election could be contested
Thursday is the deadline for submitting nominations for the presidential election. Under the Election Commission’s schedule, nomination papers can be filed with the returning officer at the Election Commission headquarters between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
A separate nomination has already been submitted on behalf of Colonel (retired) Oli Ahmed, the presidential candidate backed by an 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami. Former Jamaat lawmaker Hamidur Rahman Azad submitted the papers to Returning Officer and Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin on Thursday morning.
The emergence of candidates from both the BNP and the Jamaat-led alliance means the election could feature more than one contender for the first time since 1991, rather than being decided without a contest.
According to the election timetable, the Election Commission will scrutinise the nomination papers on August 16, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until August 18.
If more than one candidate remains in the race, voting will take place on August 20 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the session hall of the Jatiya Sangsad, or national parliament.
Fakhrul’s political career
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has served as BNP secretary-general since March 30, 2016. Before that, he was the party’s acting secretary-general for about five years from March 2011.
He was appointed BNP senior joint secretary-general at the party’s fifth national council in December 2009.
Fakhrul entered parliament from Thakurgaon-1 as a BNP candidate in the 2001 general election. From 2001 to 2006, he served as state minister for agriculture and later as state minister for civil aviation and tourism.
He also contested the 2008 general election.
From civil service to frontline politics
Fakhrul resigned from government service in 1986 and entered active politics. Two years later, he was elected chairman of Thakurgaon municipality as an independent candidate.
He joined the BNP during the nationwide anti-Ershad movement in the early 1990s and became president of the party’s Thakurgaon district unit in 1992.
Born in Thakurgaon on January 26, 1948, Fakhrul has since become one of the BNP’s most senior political figures.
His nomination now places him at the centre of a potentially contested presidential election, with the final field to be determined after scrutiny of nominations and the withdrawal deadline.
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