Bangladesh elects ruling party veteran Alamgir as president

Bangladesh elects Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir by parliamentary vote, filling vacancy after Shahabuddin’s early resignation.Members of parliament in Bangladesh have elected ruling party veteran Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the next president, following the premature resignation of the former president for health reasons.Seventy-eight-year old Alamgir from the Bangladesh-nationalist-party" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="5960" data-entity-type="organization">Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was declared the winner after a 255-to-88 parliamentary vote on Thursday. He defeated Oli Ahmed, 84, a retired army colonel, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party and candidate of the 11-party opposition alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4India denies involvement in ex-Bangladesh PM Hasina’s planned speechlist 2 of 4Sheikh Hasina vows to return, but will Bangladesh accept convicted ex-PM?list 3 of 4Bangladesh holds presidential election in first contested vote in 35 yearslist 4 of 4Bangladesh’s government under pressure as youth demand jobsend of list“I dream of a happy, prosperous and welfare-oriented state where marginalised communities, hard-working people and daily wage earners can afford meals twice a day,” Alamgir said before the vote, according to the state news agency BSS.After the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government in 2024 following youth protests, the BNP returned to power, winning a two-thirds majority in parliament and electing Tarique Rahman as prime minister after the February 12 general election.Late last month, 76-year-old President Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned two years before the end of his full term citing health concerns. The vote was on Thursday as the constitution requires a new president to be elected within 90 days.The presidency, while largely ceremonial, serves as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.Alamgir joined the BNP in the early 1990s after entering politics while studying economics at Dhaka University and becoming a main student leader in the 1969 uprising opposing Pakistan’s military rule.