Voting underway in Chittagong Chamber biennial election

The last contested election at the chamber was held in 2013, with leadership chosen unopposed ever since

Photo: Suman Babu

Voting has begun in the biennial election of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), with 53 candidates contesting for 18 director posts.

One of the two competing panels announced a boycott while keeping its candidates on the ballot.

Polling started at 9am on Saturday at the World Trade Centre in Agrabad and was proceeding peacefully as of noon, with voters also visible outside the centre.

In the ordinary group, 4,001 members are eligible to vote, while 2,764 will cast ballots in the associate group.

For the 12 ordinary group director posts, 38 candidates are in the race, while 15 are contesting in the six associate group posts.

Both panels have additional independent candidates in the mix.

The two main panels are the United Business Forum, led by former Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry director Amirul Haque, and the Combined Business Council headed by former Chittagong Chamber senior vice-president SM Nurul Haque.

United Business Forum panel leader Amirul said the turnout spoke for itself. “Chamber leadership is being elected through a vote for the first time in nearly a decade.

“The turnout tells you how members have embraced this election. Voting is a democratic process -- there is nothing to be gained from a boycott.”

“Whoever wins, we welcome them. We will all work together in the interest of business," he added.

Business leader and former chamber director SM Abu Tayeb said the mood was positive.

"Voting is happening after a long time and everyone is casting their ballots enthusiastically. Businesses have many problems. The expectation is that elected leadership will work to solve them.”

Managing Director of Pacific Jeans Limited Syed Mohammad Tanvir said elected representation is essential for any trade body.

"Without elected representatives it becomes very difficult to resolve the problems businesses face. I hope whoever is elected will work collectively in the interest of traders," he added.

Monowara Begum, election board chairperson and director of the Local Government Division in Chattogram, said around 750 voters had cast their ballots by noon with no complaints received.

Combined Business Council panel leader Nurul, however, declared the vote a “farce” and rejected it.

The panel made the announcement at a press conference at a hotel in the port city on Friday afternoon, also calling on ordinary members to stay away from the polls.

The panel demanded a “transparent and credible” voter list, alleging that fictitious voters had been enrolled in the past to undermine members' voting rights.

They also called for direct election of the president, senior vice-president and vice-president by members, rather than the current system where directors are first elected by members and then choose the top office-bearers among themselves.

Voters are required to show a chamber-issued voter ID card to enter the polling centre. All 18 director posts must be voted on individually and ballot papers may not be folded.

The last contested election at the Chittagong Chamber was held in 2013, after which leadership was chosen uncontested.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024, the entire CCCI board resigned on Sept 9 that year and three successive administrators were appointed.

An election scheduled for Nov 1 last year was postponed multiple times due to writ petitions and arbitration rulings.

Under the chamber's structure, 12 directors are elected from the ordinary category and six from the associate category by member vote.

A further three directors each come from the Town Association and Trade Group categories.

The president and two vice-presidents are then chosen by the directors.

This year, all six Town Association and Trade Group directors are set to be elected uncontested.