The ruling Awami League (AL) Advisory Council Member and former ACC commissioner, Md Shahabuddin Chuppu, is set to become the next President of Bangladesh as the party has nominated him as its presidential candidate.
The candidate selected by AL will be the next president of Bangladesh since no other political party with representation in the parliament plans to nominate anyone for the presidential election. Additionally, the ruling party holds a commanding majority in the parliament.
An AL delegation, led by the party's General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, submitted the nomination papers at the Election Commission on Sunday morning. The delegation included Awami League's presidium members Mohammad Faruk Khan, Jahangir Kabir, Abdur Rahman, and its Joint General Secretary, Hasan Mahmud. Obaidul Quader later confirmed the information during a press briefing at the Election Commission.
Md Shahabuddin, a retired district and session judge, was also part of the AL delegation team. After the nomination was filed, he stated that he had no immediate reaction. "All actions were carried out in accordance with the divine will of the Almighty Allah," he said.
"The deadline for submitting nominations is 4:00 PM today (Sunday). If no one other than Shahabuddin is nominated by that time, and his nomination papers are determined to be valid after examination tomorrow, the Election Commission can declare him as the president-elect," EC officials stated.
Meanwhile, the presidential election is scheduled for February 19th, but it will only take place if there is more than one candidate. Although the role of the president is mostly ceremonial and they are required to act based on the advice of the prime minister, except for appointing the premier and the chief justice, it gains some significance during election time due to the president's role in issuing directives to aid the Election Commission in its functions.
As per Section 5 (2) of the Representation of the People's Order, 1972, all executive authorities of the government must assist the EC in carrying out its functions, and the president may issue necessary directives after consulting with the commission.
The tenure of Hamid, the current president and longest-serving president of the country, will end on April 23rd and the constitution does not allow for his re-election. Article 50 (2) of the constitution states that no person can hold the office of the president for more than two terms, regardless of whether the terms are consecutive.
Hamid was appointed as acting president of Bangladesh on March 14th, 2013, while then-president Zillur Rahman was in a hospital in Singapore. Zillur passed away six days later. Hamid was then elected unopposed as president on April 22nd, 2013, and was sworn in two days later. On February 7th, 2018, he was re-elected unopposed for a second term.
Daily Messenger/MI
