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Senior Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader and party stalwart Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was sworn in as the 23rd President of Bangladesh at a ceremony held at Bangabhaban in Dhaka on Friday.
Alamgir took the oath of office at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban in the presence of the Speaker of Parliament of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, cabinet members, foreign dignitaries and senior civil and military officials. The oath was administered by Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Kaiser Kamal. Alamgir, a veteran BNP politician and former General Secretary of the party, was elected as the President on Thursday after securing 255 votes in the presidential election held at Bangladesh's national Parliament. He defeated Oli Ahmed, the candidate backed by the 11-party opposition alliance led by the far-right Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami and the country's first major student-led political party, National Citizen Party (NCP), who received 88 votes. According to the Bangladesh Election Commission, 343 of the 349 eligible lawmakers cast their ballots in the election under the supervision of Chief Election Commissioner ASM Nasir Uddin. The Chief Election Commissioner subsequently announced the results, declaring Alamgir elected as President. The Election Commission later issued a gazette formally declaring him President under Section 11 of the Presidential Election Act, 1991. The election was significant, as it marked the first time in 35 years that more than one candidate contested Bangladesh's presidential election. In previous presidential polls, opposition parties had generally not fielded candidates, leaving a single candidate in the race. Alamgir's election followed his nomination by the BNP as its presidential candidate last week. Following the nomination, he resigned as BNP Secretary General and stepped down from the party's National Standing Committee. The election was necessitated by the resignation of former President Mohammad Shahabuddin, who stepped down from office last month citing serious health complications. Shahabuddin, 76, had served as President since April 2023 after being elected unopposed as the nominee of the then-ruling Awami League. He submitted his resignation to Speaker of the Parliament Hafiz Uddin Ahmed on July 24, following which the Speaker assumed the duties of the President in accordance with Article 54 of the Bangladesh Constitution.Alamgir's elevation to the presidency marks a significant political transition, with the veteran BNP leader moving from a senior position within the party to Bangladesh's highest constitutional office. (ANI)
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