Bangladesh presidential election: Voting under way; 349 lawmakers to cast their ballots

Bangladesh presidential election: Voting under way; 349 lawmakers to cast their ballots Ruling BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is facing Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, LDP Chairperson and the nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party Opposition alliance.

Key points

• The president-elect will take the oath as Bangladesh's new president on Friday evening (August 21, 2026) at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban.
• Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is the frontrunner.
• Speaking at the BNP parliamentary party session on Wednesday (August 19, 2026), Mr.
• Bangladesh's presidential election obtained under way on Thursday, with lawmakers voting to elect the country's 23rd president in the first contested poll for the post in 35 years.
• The Election Commission subsequently confirmed the schedule for the election, with the voting set for August 20.

Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir is the frontrunner. If elected, he will become Bangladesh's 23rd President. File Photo Credit: Reuters.

For context, the voting, which will continue till 5 p.m. Local time, is taking place in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament), with 349 lawmakers eligible to cast their ballots. The election is being conducted through an open ballot.

Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, 78, is facing Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, 84, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chairperson and the nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party Opposition alliance.

In practice, the Election Commission is projected to announce the result after completion of the counting of votes and publish it in the official gazette.

Meanwhile, the president-elect will take the oath as Bangladesh's new president on Friday evening (August 21, 2026) at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban.

As the office had largely been filled through consensus and uncontested polls in recent decades, it is the first contested presidential election in Bangladesh since 1991.

For context, the presidential election was necessitated after Mohammed Shahabuddin, a close aide of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, resigned last month on health grounds before completing his five-year tenure.

Under the Constitution, a new president is required to be elected within 90 days of the office falling vacant.

Notably, the Election Commission subsequently confirmed the schedule for the election, with the voting set for August 20.

As required under the Constitution after a vacancy in the office, parliamentary Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is at present serving as acting president.

Meanwhile, the president is elected by Members of Parliament under Bangladesh's constitutional system.

Meanwhile, the BNP, which was voted to power in the February 12 elections, at present commands a two-thirds majority in Parliament, putting Alamgir in a robust position to secure the presidency.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. This person is additionally the BNP chairman, had nominated Mr. As its presidential candidate, alamgir, a longtime secretary general of the party and a close ally of former premier Khaleda Zia.

Speaking at the BNP parliamentary party session on Wednesday (August 19, 2026), Mr. Alamgir appealed to the BNP lawmakers to vote for him in the election. "If I have made any mistake or unintentionally hurt anyone during my tenure, I seek forgiveness, " remarked Mr. Alamgir, who has served as BNP's Senior Joint Secretary General, Acting Secretary General and Secretary General.

Meanwhile, a number of lawmakers present at the gathering noted the veteran leader became emotional and broke down in tears a number of times. Mr. Alamgir pledged that he would never compromise on the country's independence and sovereignty.

If elected, Mr. Alamgir will become Bangladesh's 23rd President. He has been one of the BNP's most prominent leaders for more than two decades, having served as acting secretary general from 2011 before formally taking over the post in 2016.

He played a prominent role in leading the BNP during the imprisonment of its then-chairperson and former prime minister Zia and the absence of Rahman. This person was abroad at the time.

Meanwhile, the president is largely a ceremonial head of state under Bangladesh's parliamentary system, with key constitutional powers, including appointing the prime minister and the chief justice.

Though the president is the supreme commander of the armed forces, those powers are generally exercised on the advice of the prime minister.

When the president's power would growth significantly in commanding the armed forces during such a period, political analysts, nevertheless, stated the presidency could assume greater significance under the caretaker administration system lately reintroduced to oversee general elections.

Notably, the analysts additionally opine that Mr. Alamgir's nomination could be a well-calculated move of BNP. It in its election manifesto had promised to equip the president with more power by amending the Constitution.

In practice, an economist by training, Mr. Alamgir created his political debut as a left-leaning student activist when Bangladesh was still East Pakistan. Bangladesh was liberated from Pakistan with India's support in 1971. After joining the BNP in the early 90s, he served as state minister for agriculture and civil aviation.

When the BNP returned to power in the February 12 elections this year, Mr. Alamgir was created the local administration minister.

For now, bangladesh presidential election: Voting under way; 349 lawmakers to cast their ballots remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.