BNP authorises Tarique to decide presidential nominee, backs five-phase local polls

The BNP Standing Committee has authorised party Chairman and Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to finalise the party's nominee for the next presidential election, while endorsing a proposal to hold the upcoming local government elections in five phases, beginning towards the end of this year and concluding by March next year.

The decisions were taken at the party's 237th Standing Committee meeting held last night (1 August) at the BNP chairperson's political office in Gulshan. The meeting began at 8pm and ended around 9:30pm, with Tarique Rahman in the chair.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Mirza Abbas (virtually), Goyeshwar Chandra Roy, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan (virtually), Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Selima Rahman, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku and Professor Dr AZM Zahid Hossain attended the meeting.

According to party sources, the meeting discussed the presidential election, the country's political situation, local government polls and the law and order situation. However, no specific name was discussed for the presidency.

Most Standing Committee members favoured convening a parliamentary session in the first week of September to facilitate the presidential election. Tarique Rahman will inform the Standing Committee of the party's presidential nominee after making the final decision.

The committee also discussed preparations for the local government elections. As the polls will be held without party symbols, BNP decided to back a single candidate at every tier, from union parishads upwards.

The party will first ask its upazila and district units to finalise candidates. If they fail to reach a consensus, divisional leaders will coordinate the selection process.

The Standing Committee also expressed concern over the country's law and order situation. Tarique Rahman raised the issue during the meeting, with several senior leaders echoing his concerns.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government was restructuring the administrative and law enforcement institutions shaped during years of what he described as authoritarian rule. He said the process would take time but expressed confidence that the overall law and order situation would gradually improve.

Speaking after the meeting, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party had entrusted Tarique Rahman with the authority to decide its presidential nominee.

Salahuddin Ahmed said the Constitution requires the presidential election to be held within 90 days and noted that the Election Commission had already indicated its readiness to conduct the polls.

"Once the Election Commission announces the schedule, nomination papers will be submitted and scrutinised. If only one valid candidate remains after scrutiny, no vote will be required. If more than one candidate contests, Parliament will have to convene a special session for the election in consultation with the Election Commission and the Speaker," he said.

Asked whether a special session of parliament would be required for the presidential election, he said there would be no need for one if only one valid candidate remained after scrutiny of nomination papers.

"If there is more than one candidate, a special session of parliament will have to be convened. The Election Commission will decide the matter in consultation with the speaker," he said.

On 24 July, former president Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned by submitting his resignation letter to the speaker. In a statement explaining his decision, Shahabuddin said he had recently been diagnosed with autonomic neuropathy, a condition that causes him to occasionally lose consciousness.

Following the vacancy, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad assumed the role of acting president.

Under Article 123(2) of the Constitution, if the office of the president falls vacant due to death, resignation or removal, a new president must be elected within 90 days. Under Article 48(1), the president is elected by a vote of the members of parliament.

On the local government elections, Salahuddin said the Local Government Ministry had indicated that the polls would begin either towards the end of this year or early next year, adding that the proposed timeline was discussed during the Standing Committee meeting.