Bangladesh president vote pits Alamgir against Ahmed

Bangladesh's parliament is due to elect a new president on Thursday, with Bangladesh Nationalist Party secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir running against opposition candidate Oli Ahmed.

Alamgir, 78, is also local government minister. The presidency is described as a largely ceremonial five-year post in the country of 170 million people.

The vote is expected to begin around 2:00 pm local time. BSS reported that Alamgir told reporters on Tuesday that he had not expected to become president and wished to remain beside the people and serve them.

The vote follows the July resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected in 2023 and stepped down citing ill health before his term was due to end in 2028.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's BNP won a landslide victory in February in the first elections since the 2024 revolution ousted Sheikh Hasina's government. Hasina remains in hiding in India after refusing to attend her trial in Dhaka, where she was found guilty of crimes against humanity in November and sentenced to be hanged.