Presidential election nomination papers to be scrutinized tomorrow
Collected Photo
The scrutiny of nomination papers submitted for the 23rd presidential election of the People's Republic of Bangladesh will take place tomorrow, Sunday. The process will begin at 10:00 AM at the Election Building. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, acting as the "Returning Officer," will scrutinize the nomination papers.
Earlier, Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said a total of three nomination papers have been submitted for the presidential election. Among them, two nomination papers have been filed on behalf of Colonel (Retd.) Oli Ahmed, the candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Jamaat-e-Islami and the Nationalist People's Party (NCP), and one nomination paper has been filed on behalf of BNP candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
According to the schedule, the last time for withdrawal of candidacy is 4:00 PM on August 18. If no candidacy is withdrawn within the stipulated time, the presidential election will be held on August 20 with the finalized candidates. The Election Commission (EC) is preparing the necessary arrangements for voting.
According to the Constitution, members of the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) vote to elect the President. In this case, no one below 35 years of age or ineligible to be elected as a Member of Parliament can become President. As per the rules, the CEC acts as the Returning Officer to conduct the presidential election. In this regard, he announces the election schedule after consulting with the Speaker. The schedule for the presidential election was announced on August 6.
According to the schedule, the voting for this election takes place during a parliamentary session. However, if there is no session at the time of the presidential election, the EC may, after consulting with the Speaker, issue a notification and summon a session at least seven days before voting.
Under Article 50 of the Constitution, the President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date of assuming office. No person shall hold office for more than two terms. However, the office of the President may become vacant due to physical illness, mental reasons, or serious misconduct.
After the introduction of parliamentary democracy in 1991, voting in the presidential election became necessary due to multiple candidates. Later, on every occasion, the candidate nominated by the ruling party was elected unopposed.
On July 24, President Md. Sahabuddin resigned from office. According to the rules, the EC must arrange for the election of a new President within 90 days of the President's resignation.
