Dhaka, Aug 20 (V7N)- Voting is underway in Bangladesh’s 23rd presidential election, with elected members of the National Assembly casting their ballots.
Voting began shortly after 2pm on Thursday (August 20), with Acting President Hafiz Uddin Ahmed casting his vote first. Acting Speaker Kaiser Kamal and Parliament Leader and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman subsequently voted.
BNP-nominated presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also cast his ballot, followed by ministers, MPs from the ruling party and opposition lawmakers.
However, opposition 11-party alliance candidate Oli Ahmed was not present in the parliament chamber during the voting because he is not a member of the National Assembly and therefore is not eligible to vote in the presidential election.
In contrast, Mirza Fakhrul was able to cast his own vote because he is an elected member of parliament.
Under Article 48 of the Constitution, a presidential candidate must meet three basic qualifications: be a citizen of Bangladesh, be at least 35 years old and be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly.
Membership of parliament itself is therefore not mandatory for contesting the presidential election. This allowed Oli Ahmed to contest despite not being an MP.
However, Article 48(1) provides that the elected members of the National Assembly shall elect the president. Consequently, although Oli Ahmed is a presidential candidate, he does not have the right to cast a vote in his own election.
END/SMA/AJ
