Archive · 20 Aug 2026
Bangladesh Holds First Contested Presidential Poll in 35 Years
Bangladesh’s lawmakers are voting to choose a new president.
Two people are running: Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Colonel Oli Ahmed.
Alamgir belongs to the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP.
Oli Ahmed represents an opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.
The BNP has many more seats in Parliament, so Alamgir is expected to win.
Voting is taking place inside Parliament on Thursday from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
This is Bangladesh’s first contested presidential election since 1991.
The election became necessary after former president Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned because of health problems.
The winner is scheduled to take the oath on Friday evening.
Bangladesh’s Parliament is voting Thursday to elect the country’s 23rd president, the first contested presidential poll since 1991.
The candidates are 78-year-old BNP nominee Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and 84-year-old LDP chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed.
Voting is scheduled from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. local time at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, with 349 lawmakers eligible to cast open ballots.
The BNP holds 247 of Parliament’s 350 seats, giving Alamgir a strong advantage; reports place the opposition alliance’s strength at either 81 or 90 lawmakers.
The election follows Mohammed Shahabuddin’s resignation on health grounds, with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad serving as acting president until a successor is chosen.
- Who
- Bangladesh’s 349 eligible lawmakers will choose between BNP nominee Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and opposition alliance candidate Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed.
- What
- Parliament is holding an election to select Bangladesh’s 23rd president.
- When
- Thursday, with voting scheduled from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. local time; the president-elect is scheduled to take the oath on Friday evening.
- Where
- Voting is taking place at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, and the oath is scheduled at Bangabhaban’s Darbar Hall.
- Why
- The election was required after Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned on health grounds before completing his five-year term; the Constitution requires a replacement within 90 days.
Ruling BNP candidate
Opposition alliance candidate
Electoral prospects
Ruling BNP candidate
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is widely expected to win because the BNP holds 247 parliamentary seats, a two-thirds majority, and lawmakers are generally required to follow their party’s instructions.
Opposition alliance candidate
Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed is providing an alternative to the ruling-party nominee as the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.
Presidential powers
Ruling BNP candidate
Analysts cited in the reports said the presidency could become more important under the recently reintroduced caretaker-government system, and the BNP has promised to seek greater presidential powers through constitutional amendments.
Opposition alliance candidate
The opposition candidate is contesting under the existing parliamentary framework, in which the president is largely ceremonial but retains constitutional duties such as appointing the prime minister and chief justice.
Political background
Ruling BNP candidate
Alamgir is a longtime BNP leader, current local government minister and close associate of former prime minister Khaleda Zia; Prime Minister Tarique Rahman nominated him.
Opposition alliance candidate
Oli Ahmed is a former BNP politician and minister who later left the party, helped establish the Liberal Democratic Party and now chairs it.
- Candidates
- Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, 78, and Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, 84.
- Eligible voters
- 349 lawmakers; the Chattogram-4 parliamentary seat is vacant.
- Parliamentary balance
- The BNP holds 247 of 350 seats; reports say the Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance has either 81 or 90 seats, with other seats held by smaller parties and independents.
- Voting system
- Each lawmaker, including the Speaker, has one vote in an open-ballot parliamentary election.
- Party voting
- Article 70 generally bars lawmakers from voting against their party line, strengthening the BNP nominee’s expected advantage.
- Acting president
- Parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is serving as acting president during the vacancy.
- Historical significance
- The election is the first contested presidential poll since 1991; eight presidents were elected unopposed between 1996 and 2023.
Sources
Bangladesh to hold presidential election today; first contested poll in 35 years
Bangladesh holds first voted presidential poll in 35 years today: Who is set to win?
Mirza Alamgir vs Oli Ahmed: Bangladesh set for first contested presidential poll in 35 years