Bangladesh elects veteran politician Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as president

As president, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir will serve as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. (AFP pic)DHAKA: Lawmakers in Bangladesh elected ruling party veteran Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the country's president on Thursday, a largely ceremonial post left vacant after the early resignation of his predecessor.Alamgir, 78, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and local government minister, won 255 votes to become the 23rd president of the South Asian country of 170 million people.The only other candidate, Oli Ahmad, nominated by the opposition 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami, finished with 88 votes, Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin said."I dream of a happy, prosperous, and welfare-oriented state where marginalised communities, hard- working people, and daily wage earners can afford meals twice a day," Alamgir said Thursday before the vote, according to the state news agency BSS.The poll was the first in 35 years that more than one candidate contested the Bangladesh presidency.The previous presidential election involving a parliamentary vote was held in 1991."We have high hopes from you," Oli, 87, said after the vote."We expect you to serve the country by putting national interests above personal interests."Bangladesh's close ally China congratulated Alamgir, saying it looked forward to "a shared future in the new era", its high commission in Dhaka said in a statement.The presidency vote follows the resignation in July of the previous president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, 76, a close ally of Hasina who had faced pressure to quit.Widely known as "Chuppu", he was elected in 2023 and stepped down citing ill health. His term was due to end in 2028.Seasoned politicianPrime Minister Tarique Rahman's BNP won a landslide victory in February, in the first elections since a 2024 uprising ousted the government of Sheikh Hasina.Hasina remains in hiding in India, having refused to attend her trial in Dhaka – where in November she was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to be hanged.Rights groups had long accused Hasina's administration of abuses, including the murder of rivals, suppression of opposition parties, rigged courts and one-sided elections.Born on Jan 26, 1948, Alamgir entered politics while studying economics at Dhaka University.He was a key student leader in the 1969 uprisin…

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s Parliament elected a stalwart of the country’s new ruling party to the presidency Thursday after the post fell vacant last month following the resignation of the former president, who was a close ally of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The vote confirmed the expected victory of Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a veteran of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, who got 255 votes to 88 for challenger Oli Ahmed of the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party and its allies. A total of 349 members of Parliament were eligible to vote in what was the first contested presidential election since Oct.

1991, when the nation became a parliamentary democracy. Every presidential election since then had been uncontested, drawing no challengers to the ruling party’s candidate. Alamgir was a long-time secretary-general of BNP and steered the political movement against the 15-year rule of Hasina.

She fled the country in August 2024 during a mass uprising over allegations of autocratic rule and corruption in the allocation of government jobs, and her party has been barred from politics since last year. Bangladesh’s president is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the influential armed forces, while the prime minister is the head of the government. Though the presidency is largely ceremonial, it has important roles to play during political crises.

Alamgir was expected to take office on Friday. Last month, Bangladesh’s former President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who took office during Hasina’s rule, resigned halfway through his term, following years of political turbulence. His resignation meant that Hasina, who is in exile in India, lost a trusted ally in the establishment at home.

A new government headed by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, the son of a former prime minister who was the archrival of Hasina, came to power with a landslide victory in February after 18 months of interim rule under Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Hasina’s party was not allowed to take part in the election. Shahabuddin was known to be a trusted follower of Hasina.