Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir 23rd President of Bangladesh

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the nominee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was elected as the 23rd President of Bangladesh after defeating the opposition candidate, retired Colonel Oli Ahmed. It was the country's first contested presidential election in 35 years. Fakhrul Islam Alamgir got a huge majority of 255 votes, while the candidate of the 11-party coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami, Auli Ahmed, got only 88 votes.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasiruddin, who was also the returning officer, announced the results after voting ended at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 5pm local time on Thursday. According to Daily Sun, the Election Commission is expected to publish the results in the official gazette on Thursday itself. Voting began at 2pm and continued for three hours without a break. After that, Prime Minister Tariq Rehman and Fakhrul Islam exercised their right to vote at 2:11 PM.
Before voting, Chief Election Commissioner Nasiruddin briefed the parliamentarians about the election process.
The election took place by open ballot, with 349 MPs eligible to vote.
Fakhrul Islam's victory was already expected as the BNP has a clear majority in the parliament. Under Article 70 of the Constitution, MPs risk losing their seats if they vote against their party's decision.
The 349 eligible voters included 247 BNP members, 77 Jamaat members, 8 members of the National Citizen Party, 8 independent members, 3 members of Bangladesh Khilafat Majlis and one member each from Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Gono Adhikar Parishad, Gonosamhati Andolan, Khilafat Majlis, Islami Andolan Bangladesh and Jatiya Ganatantric Party.
Fakhrul Islam was expected to be supported by the ruling BNP-led camp, while the opposition coalition was expected to support Oli Ahmed.
The presidential election was held after Muhammad Shahabuddin resigned as president on July 24, after which Speaker Hafizuddin Ahmed took over as acting president.
Under Article 123(2) of the Constitution, a presidential election must be held within 90 days to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of the President.
Fakhrul Islam will take oath of office at Bang Bhaban on Friday evening, for which preparations have already begun.
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was the General Secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party from 2016 to August 2026. After being nominated as the presidential candidate, he resigned from this position of the party.
He was virtually the most visible face of the party during the BNP's years in opposition, especially during the period when BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia was in jail and Tariq Rehman was in exile.
The last presidential election before that was held on 8 October 1991, when BNP candidate Abdul Rehman Biswas defeated Awami League candidate Badrul Haider Chaudhry by 92 votes to 172 to become the 11th president of Bangladesh.