Bangladesh (Commonwealth Union)_The Bangladesh presidential election is scheduled to be held before February 23. Md Jahangir Alam, secretary of the Election Commission (EC), announced the news to the media following a meeting held at the EC office. He stated, “The process has already started. We will contact the Parliament Secretariat and fix the date of the Chief Election Commissioner’s meeting with the Speaker”.
The country’s constitution limits a person to two terms as president. Therefore, the incumbent president, Abdul Hamid, cannot be elected for a third term. A new president must be chosen between 90 and 60 days before the expiration of the current president’s term. The parliament of Bangladesh contains 300 seats for elected lawmakers and 50 reserved seats for women.
Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury, the speaker of the Bangladesh parliament, may become the country’s first female president. According to top Awami League sources, the ruling party has opted to field Chowdhury despite certain sections advocating for senior party officials like Matiya Chowdhury and Amir Hossain Amu. The majority of the Presidium and Central Executive Committee rejected suggestions that party general secretary and roads-bridges minister Obaidul Quader would be a viable candidate for president because Quader has recovered from his physical ailments and is viewed as a tough, old-school Awami League organizer. A senior leader remarked that Quader must lead the party in a potentially difficult election year.
Joint General Secretary and Information Minister, Hasan Mahmud, Quader’s predicted replacement, is viewed by many as less fit as a party organizer and more suited as a potential forest-environment minister with added responsibility for science and technology. According to author Sukharanjan Dasgupta, “Hasan holds a PhD in environmental science and may be useful to plan government measures to tackle climate change fallout, which is a huge issue in Bangladesh. The party also prioritizes digitalization and increasing scientific applications in all spheres like agriculture, so it is better that a senior scientist is better used for his domain expertise”.
If Shirin were to become president, it would be a watershed moment for the Muslim nation Bangladesh. She will not only be the nation’s first female president, but also one of the youngest in global history. Given that Sheikh Hasina is the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister and has reigned over a decade of progress, this may be the first time in the world that both the President and Prime Minister are women. The majority of Hasina’s cabinet ministers were female when she ascended to office in January 2009, including the home minister Sahara Khatun and the foreign minister Dipu Moni. Moni remains Education Minister and is an outspoken opponent of Islamist extremism, having stated she will continue to wear teep (bindi) despite protests from clerics.
The Election Commission (EC) has already set February 18 as the final date for the Presidential poll, despite prior statements by EC officials that the election will be held between January 23 and February 23 following President Abdul Hamid’s resignation. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury’s name has not yet been revealed at the Awami League’s party forum. However, a top-level source in the ruling party has almost confirmed that the ruling party will propose her as the next president owing to her personality, acceptability, and experience as Speaker.
Hamid is the first President to have served two terms in a row. His second and final term will conclude on April 24 of this year. Abdul Hamid took over office as the 20th President of Bangladesh on April 24, 2013. Following the end of his first term, Hamid took the oath for his second term as president on the same date in 2018. The presidential election is expected to take place in the House, with the CEC serving as the election official.
