Published : 11 Aug 2026, 05:17 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
Acting Speaker Kayser Kamal is holding a meeting with officials involved in the forthcoming presidential election as preparations for the polls continue.
The meeting began at 11am on Tuesday on the ground floor of the parliament building, two days before nomination papers are due to be filed.
The meeting, presided over by Kamal, is reviewing preparations for the election, said Monir Hossain, director of public relations at the Parliament Secretariat.
“There are different tasks ahead of the vote,” he said, adding that officials will be involved if voting takes place in the chamber.
The Parliament Secretariat secretary and a delegation headed by the Election Commission (EC) secretary are attending the meeting, Monir said.
The EC has already announced the schedule for the presidential election.
Candidates can submit nomination papers on Aug 13, which will be scrutinised on Aug 16.
The deadline for withdrawing candidacies is Aug 18.
If there is more than one candidate, voting will take place in the parliamentary chamber on Aug 20.
For the first time in about three and a half decades, the presidential election is set to have more than one candidate.
The ruling BNP is still in the process of finalising its candidate, while the Opposition Party, Jamaat-e-Islami, has already announced its nominee.
Unlike local government and parliamentary elections, which use secret ballots, presidential elections are held through open voting.
The chief election commissioner (CEC) serves as the election officer for the vote.
Candidates must submit their nomination papers to the CEC at the EC Headquarters.
Both the BNP and Jamaat have collected nomination papers for their respective candidates.
Submission, scrutiny and withdrawal of nominations take place at the CEC's office.
If there is only one candidate, that person is elected unopposed. If there is more than one, voting takes place in the parliamentary chamber, with supporting officials assisting the election officer.
The president is elected by MPs.
The Constitution's Second Schedule, adopted in 1972, provided for the president to be elected by MPs through secret voting.
The Presidential Election Act of 1991 introduced open voting.
The 13th Parliament has 349 MPs, including reserved seats for women, who are eligible to vote in the election.
Of them, BNP has 247 MPs, including those from reserved seats, while Jamaat has 77.
The parliament also has eight independent MPs, eight from the National Citizen Party (NCP), three from Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis, and one each from Islami Andolan Bangladesh, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Ganosamhati Andolon, Gono Odhikar Parishad, Khelafat Majlis and Jatiya Ganotantrik Party (JAGPA).
