Dhaka: The Election Commission (EC) has officially declared BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the President of Bangladesh through a gazette notification issued on Thursday. This announcement follows his victory in the presidential election held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

According to United News of Bangladesh, the notification was released under Section 11 of the Presidential Election Act, 1991, and confirmed that Mirza Fakhrul was elected in accordance with Rule 12(6) of the Presidential Election Rules, 1991. The gazette was signed by EC Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed.

Mirza Fakhrul’s election as the 23rd President came after he defeated his sole competitor, Col (retd) Oli Ahmad, who was supported by the 11-party opposition alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami. Fakhrul secured a total of 255 votes compared to Oli’s 88 in the election.

Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, who also served as the Returning Officer for the election, announced the results once the voting concluded at 5:00 pm. He declared Mirza Fakhrul as the President after confirming that he had received the highest number of votes among the 343 valid votes cast.

Out of the 349 eligible voters, six lawmakers did not participate in the election. The absent lawmakers included BNP members Mirza Abbas, Mostafa Kamal Pasha, and Dr. Muhammad Osman Farruk, as well as independent lawmaker Rumeen Farhana, Jamaat lawmaker Gazi Nazrul Islam, and Islami Andolan Bangladesh lawmaker Md Oli Ullah.