Bangladesh's Election Commission on Thursday announced that the country's presidential election will be held on Aug. 20, setting the stage for the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to choose a successor to Mohammed Shahabuddin, who resigned earlier this week.
The Daily Star reported that polling will be conducted from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., while nomination papers will be accepted on Aug. 13 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said at the commission's headquarters in Dhaka.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will begin on Aug. 16 and continue until the process is completed.
Akhtar said the schedule was announced in accordance with the Presidential Election Act, 1991, after consultations between the Chief Election Commissioner and the Speaker of Parliament.
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Accordfing to Daily Star, the Election Commission has also received the electoral roll of all 350 members of Parliament from the Parliament Secretariat, who will constitute the electoral college for the presidential election.
"The remaining administrative procedures will be completed in line with the announced schedule," Akhtar said.
The announcement comes after the resignation of President Mohammed Shahabuddin, triggering the constitutional process to elect a new head of state. Under Bangladesh's Constitution, a presidential election must be held within 90 days of a vacancy arising through resignation, death or removal.
Attention has now shifted to the BNP, which is deliberating over its nominee for the largely ceremonial but constitutionally significant post.
The Daily Star citing party sources, said that Prime Minister and BNP chief Tarique Rahman has begun consultations with senior leaders to identify a candidate who is politically acceptable and free from major controversy.
Among the names under discussion are BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Nazrul Islam Khan, and political analyst and former Dhaka University professor Dr. Mahbub Ullah.
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According to media reports, Mirza Fakhrul is widely regarded as one of the frontrunners after serving as the party's public face through years of political opposition, election campaigns and engagements with foreign diplomats. However, party leaders are also weighing whether moving him to the presidency would require him to step away from active politics.
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