BNP Nominates Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as Presidential Candidate

BNP has nominated its secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as its presidential candidate. Party senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi announced this. The decision was taken after a meeting of senior party leaders with the prime minister and BNP chairperson Tarique Rahman. The presidential election will be held on August 20. According to the Election Commission's schedule, Alamgir was to file his nomination papers by 4 pm on Thursday. Bangladesh's main opposition Jamaat-e-Islami has nominated its alliance partner Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed. Oli Ahmed has already filed his nomination papers with the Election Commission. After being nominated for the presidency, 78-year-old Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir resigned as BNP secretary general. He has also resigned from the party's highest policy-setting body. Alamgir was in the role of acting secretary general of BNP since 2011 and formally took over as secretary general in 2016. He was elected president through the February 12 elections in Bangladesh. Fakhrul is currently in power.