Bangladesh’s lawmakers have officially announced the name of veteran politician Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its 23rd president. His predecessor resigned early, and the post was left largely vacant, having been a largely ceremonial one.
The 78-year-old Alamgir, who is the secretary-general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and also the local government minister, won with 255 votes.
Oli Ahmad, a candidate of 11-party opposition alliance Jamaat-e-Islami, was the sole rival of the opposition. The Chief Election Commissioner says that Ahmad completed the race with 88 votes.
It is also a milestone in democracy as it is the first presidential election in 35 years to have more than one candidate. The first contest for the presidency in Parliament was in 1991.
After the announcement, Ahmad congratulated the newly elected president and wished high hopes for him, and instilled confidence in Alamgir to focus on national interests over personal interests. The Chinese high commission in Dhaka also made similar remarks, wishing for a bright future for the two peoples in this new era.
Before the election, Alamgir explained his vision, which envisioned a prosperous and welfare-state where marginalised communities, hard-working people and the daily wage earners can afford a daily meal.
Former president Mohammed Shahabuddin (“Chuppu”) resigned, and the election of a new president is set to follow that. In July, the 76-year-old resigned due to ill health, just after being under intense pressure to do so well before his term as a district judge was scheduled to expire in 2028.
The political landscape in the South Asian country with a population of 1.7 crore has drastically changed earlier this year. In February, the BNP – led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman – won a landslide election victory after a major uprising in 2024 toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government.
Hasina is reportedly staying in hiding in India. This follows her decision to skip her trial in Dhaka. In that case, a court found her guilty of crimes against humanity. The sentence was death, handed down in November. For years, human rights activists have complained of Hasina’s government for its egregious human rights violations, such as the suppression of opposition party members, rigged courts, and targeting of political opponents.
Alamgir was born on 26th January 1948, and his political career started when he was at Dhaka University studying economics. He was a leading student leader of the uprising against Pakistani military rule in 1969 that was a stepping stone to the nation’s independence in 1971.
Prior to emerging as a prominent opposition figure, Alamgir served as a professor of economics and as several ministers in the government, such as for agriculture, aviation and tourism. He has been arrested and charged with dozens of politically motivated offences several times during this iron-fisted regime, and has managed to keep the BNP together without the leadership of jailed party chief Khaleda Zia or exiled party leader Tarique Rahman.
Alamgir is married to Rahat Ara Begum, who is a retired financial official, and they have two daughters. As head of state, he will also be the commander in chief of the military forces.
