Dhaka: The 11-party alliance, spearheaded by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, has announced Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmad as their candidate for the upcoming presidential election. This decision was revealed by Opposition Chip Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam after a meeting at the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Shafiqur Rahman, on Minto Road.

According to United News of Bangladesh, on the same day, the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) took steps to solidify their position in the presidential race by collecting two nomination forms. BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni collected these forms from the Returning Officer’s office in the Nirbachan Bhaban, located in Agargaon.

The election schedule, announced by the Election Commission on August 6, sets the date for the presidential election on August 20. This follows the resignation of the former President Shahabuddin on July 24. Nomination papers are to be submitted between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on August 13, with scrutiny scheduled for August 16. Candidates have until August 18 to withdraw their candidacy.

Should there be more than one candidate, voting will take place from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on August 20 at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. This election could potentially be the first to feature more than one candidate since the restoration of the parliamentary system in 1991. In that year, BNP’s Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League’s Badrul Haider Chowdhury, while subsequent elections saw ruling party nominees elected unopposed.

Given that the President is elected by Members of Parliament, the BNP candidate is anticipated to win, owing to the party’s majority in Parliament.