Dhaka: Neither of the two presidential candidates withdrew from the race within the stipulated deadline of 4:00pm Tuesday, paving the way for voting in the presidential election on Thursday (August 20), nearly 35 years after the country last witnessed a presidential election contested by more than one candidate.
According to United News of Bangladesh, BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Jamaat-led 11-party alliance contender Col (Retd) Oli Ahmad are running in the presidential election. Election Commission Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed confirmed that the deadline for withdrawal of candidacy expired at 4pm on Tuesday, and neither candidate withdrew their candidacy within the stipulated time.
Voting will be held from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on August 20 in the session chamber of the Jatiya Sangsad, as per the EC secretary. At the beginning of the voting, the Election Officer and Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin will brief the lawmakers, who are the electors, on the voting procedure.
Akhtar Ahmed stated that the ballot papers would be prepared on Tuesday. Each ballot paper will have two parts: a counterfoil and the ballot portion. The counterfoil will contain three pieces of information and a blank space: the serial number, the name of the MP, and the divisional number provided by the Jatiya Sangsad Secretariat. An MP will sign their full name in the designated space before receiving the ballot paper.
The names of the contesting candidates will be printed on the right-hand side of the ballot paper in alphabetical order in Bangla. There will be a designated space beside each candidate’s name where MPs will sign their full names and cast their votes. The MPs will then deposit their ballots into the designated ballot box. Ballots will be accepted until 5:00pm, after which counting will begin.
The ballot paper will carry black printing on a white background, the EC secretary noted. A total of 349 MPs are eligible to vote in the presidential election. The votes will be counted in the session chamber of Jatiya Sangsad immediately after voting ends, and the Election Officer will announce the result there. The result will subsequently be published in the official gazette.