Bangladesh Holds Historic First Contested Presidential Vote in 35 Years

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Bangladesh is holding its first contested presidential election in 35 years. The ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is competing against former army officer Oli Ahmad, who is the nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.

A total of 349 members of parliament are eligible to cast their votes in the parliamentary chamber between 08:00 GMT and 11:00 GMT on Thursday. Results are expected hours later, according to Bangladesh’s Election Commission. The election follows the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed in 2023 as a nominee of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League (AL) party. He resigned halfway through his five-year term after serving through Hasina’s removal in August 2024, the Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration, and the BNP’s return to power in February.

Thursday’s vote marks the first contested presidential election since October 1991, when BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated AL nominee Badrul Haider Chowdhury by 172 votes to 92. Every subsequent presidential election was uncontested. Despite this milestone, the outcome is widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Out of 349 eligible lawmakers, 247 belong to the BNP and 90 belong to the Jamaat-led opposition alliance, giving Alamgir a decisive numerical advantage. Nevertheless, the vote holds symbolic importance as the country reshapes its institutions two years after the 2024 uprising that ended Hasina’s 15-year rule.

Alamgir, 78, is a prominent BNP leader who became acting secretary-general in 2011 and was formally appointed in 2016. After the BNP won this year’s election, Alamgir took office as minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives. At a BNP parliamentary party meeting, he thanked Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for his nomination and pledged to protect Bangladesh’s independence and sovereignty. Rahman urged BNP lawmakers to support Alamgir.

Alamgir’s opponent, retired Colonel Ahmad, 85, is a decorated veteran of Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and a six-time member of parliament. Once a close associate of former President Ziaur Rahman—the father of current Prime Minister Tarique Rahman—Ahmad joined the BNP in 1980 after leaving the military, served as communications minister under former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, and founded the LDP in 2006. His nomination is politically notable because his main backer, the Jamaat, had opposed Bangladesh’s independence in 1971, whereas Ahmad fought in the Liberation War.

Public opinion regarding the two candidates is divided. Anwarul Islam, a former Bangladesh Bank official, praised Alamgir for his personal integrity. Meanwhile, Abdul Baten, a manager at a construction site in Dhaka, expressed a preference for Ahmad due to his extensive political experience.

While the constitution designates the president as head of state, the role carries limited executive authority under Article 48(3), which requires the president to act on the prime minister’s advice. Political scientist Ali Riaz noted that while the return of a contested election is a welcome step, its practical governance impact remains limited due to these constitutional constraints.

For families of those killed during the 2024 uprising, the election brings renewed focus to the democratic process, though questions persist regarding whether lawmakers should be bound by party lines under Article 70 of the constitution. Despite these debates, Thursday’s vote provides Bangladesh with a rare moment where lawmakers will have two distinct names on the ballot for head of state.