Published : 08 Aug 2026, 04:10 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
With the presidential election set to be held inside the parliament chamber, questions have emerged over if a parliamentary session must be called to conduct the vote.
Bangladesh returned to a parliamentary democratic system after the fall of the HM Ershad's government in the 1990 mass uprising.
Whether a session was called for that presidential election, and whether one will be needed this time given the country's current circumstances, is now under debate.
One election commissioner said calling a parliamentary session for the presidential election is not necessary.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni, however, has signalled that a "special session" could be called ahead of the vote.
Nizam Uddin Ahmed, a researcher on parliamentary affairs and former professor at Chattogram University's Department of Public Administration, said: "A session is not mandatory for the presidential election. MPs will elect the president.
“A special session can be called if they wish to, but it doesn't have to be a regular session. Nowhere does it say the election must take place during a session."
Following Mohammed Shahabuddin's resignation on Jul 24, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad has been serving as acting president under the Constitution until a new president is elected.
The chief election commissioner (CEC) held discussions with the acting speaker and set Aug 20 as the polling date for the presidential election.
CEC AMM Nasir Uddin will serve as the "election authority" for this vote.
Under the schedule announced by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday, the country will learn who is set to become president as soon as nomination papers are submitted on Aug 13.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will take place on Aug 16.
If only one valid candidate remains, they will be declared elected unopposed once the withdrawal deadline passes at 4pm on Aug 18.
Since the ruling BNP holds the parliamentary majority, its nominee will effectively become president; what remains is the formal legal process.
MPs alone serve as voters in the presidential election. Should more than one candidate remain in the race, voting will be arranged inside the parliament's session chamber.
The 13th Parliament's last session ended on Jul 15.
Under the rules, its next session must be held within 60 days, or by Sept 15.
1991 Vote
Amid a mass uprising, Ershad's government, which had held power for nine straight years, was forced to step down on Dec 6, 1990.
The fifth parliamentary election followed in 1991, after which MPs elected the president by vote.
Moni, who voted as an independent MP in that election, now serves as chief whip.
Speaking to private broadcaster Ekattor after Thursday's schedule announcement, he said a special session of parliament could be called around the presidential vote.
"The acting president will call the session just a day or two before the election. But whether this session will move into regular business or be adjourned right after the election concludes hasn't been finalised yet."
The Awami League government, in power for nearly a decade and a half, was ousted in the Aug 5, 2024 mass uprising, prompting former prime minister Sheikh Hasina to flee to India.
After Sahabuddin, who was elected president under the Hasina government, resigned, the EC has arranged the election of a new president.
Asked on Friday if a session is planned this time, Chief Whip Moni told bdnews24.com: "A parliamentary session will be called this time too. We voted after calling a session in 1991. It hasn't happened since then."
What Happened in 1991
In that first presidential election after parliamentary democracy's return, BNP's candidate was Abdur Rahman Biswas, while opposition Awami League and its allies fielded former chief justice Badrul Haider Chowdhury.
A vote was arranged in parliament that time as well.
Mihir Sarwar Morshed, an EC official who served as polling officer at that election inside the parliament's session chamber, later retired at the rank of joint secretary.
Mihir Sarwar told bdnews24.com: "Open voting became the system after the Presidential Election Act, 1991 was enacted. Parliament wasn't in session when the schedule was announced back then.
“A session was called specifically for the presidential election."
The former EC official said there were two independent MPs at the time -- Acting President and Speaker Hafiz Uddin, and Chief Whip Moni — who cast their votes as independent voters in that presidential election.
Tofail Ahmed served as Awami League's polling agent and Nazmul Huda as BNP's in that election.
A third MP, Makbul Hossain, outside BNP and Awami League, had also entered the race but later withdrew.
The then CEC Justice Abdur Rouf served as election authority, seated on a separate chair beneath the speaker's seat inside the parliament chamber during the vote.
BNP's candidate Biswas won with 172 votes.
Awami League's candidate former chief justice Badrul Haider received 92 votes.
Parliamentary affairs researcher Nizam said the law nowhere states that a special session must be called for the election.
He said the BNP holds the parliamentary majority, and with the Opposition telling media it will not field a candidate, only one candidate is likely to remain.
The withdrawal deadline falls on Aug 18, so a parliamentary session may not be needed at all. A session would only be required if more than one candidate remained in the race, he added.
Election Commissioner Abdur Rahmanel Masud, however, said a session is not needed even with multiple candidates in the fray.
Asked on Friday, he said: "There's no obligation that a session must be held for the presidential election. We've called on MPs and specified in the schedule where the vote will take place. So there's no legal requirement that a parliamentary session must be held to conduct this presidential election.
“But if the president does call a session, there's no issue with that either."
"If the president calls a parliamentary session on the prime minister's advice, they can do so at any time,” the commissioner added.
“But there's no need to call one for the election. In other words, whether a session is running or not makes no difference to the election. The presidential election faces no obstacle either way."
EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed announced the commission-approved schedule for the presidential election on Thursday.
The schedule, issued with an appeal to voters (MPs), states that voting will take place in the parliament chamber from 2pm to 5pm on Aug 20.
Referring to this, Masud said: "In the schedule notification, we've called on MPs, the voters, specifying by which date nomination papers must be filed, when scrutiny will happen, by when withdrawal must occur, and when the vote will be held.
“We've specified where the vote will take place, the parliament chamber or session chamber."
“There's no legal obligation to call a session for a vote to be held in the session chamber. If the government calls one, that's fine too,” he added.
Who Can, Can't Run
In the 1980s, independent figures such as "Chhokka" Saifur and "Krishak” Sadeque contested in the presidential race.
Under military rule and the presidential system, the president was elected directly by popular vote.
There were 10 presidential candidates in 1978, 32 in 1981 and 12 in 1986.
Parliamentary affairs expert Nizam said the public voted directly in three presidential elections.
Figures like Saifur and farmer Sadeque became talking points as candidates during that era.
But after the 1991 law came into force, no one outside a party could contest again.
"Where would they even find a proposer and seconder? They'd need an MP backing them," he said.
After the return to parliamentary rule in the 1990s, some individual candidates, including Shailesh and Jagadish, made attempts at various presidential elections on their own initiative.
Over the past eight elections, the president has been chosen through indirect voting by MPs.
The ruling party's nominee has been elected unopposed in seven of those elections. A vote was held only in 1991, when both BNP and Awami League fielded candidates.
The requirement in the Presidential Election Act, 1991 for an MP's signature as proposer and seconder on nomination papers has since kept overly ambitious independent candidates from getting close to the race.
Earlier, following the first parliamentary election, MPs unanimously elected the president in 1974.
Under the Second Schedule of the 1972 Constitution, the president was to be elected by MPs through secret ballot.
Independent Bangladesh's first and only presidential election under the parliamentary system was held on Jan 24, 1974.
The then speaker Mohammad Mohammadullah was elected the country's third president unopposed, with no rival candidate.
Election Commissioner Masud said, "A candidate doesn't need to be an MP; eligibility criteria are laid out under the constitution and relevant laws determining who can run.
“If a sitting MP becomes president, that seat falls vacant."
Under the 1991 law, the election officer examines nomination papers at a set date, time and venue. If there is a single candidate and the nomination is found valid, the commission will declare them elected.
If more than one candidate's nomination proves valid, the commission will announce their names for the election.
• A presidential candidate must be at least 35 years old and eligible to be elected as an MP. Anyone previously removed from the presidency through impeachment under the constitution cannot run.
• A candidate need not currently be an MP but must be eligible to become one. Their nomination paper requires one MP as proposer and another as seconder, along with the candidate's own consenting signature.
• If a sitting MP is elected president, their parliamentary seat falls vacant on the day they assume office.
• If only one valid candidate remains after scrutiny and withdrawal, the EC will declare them elected without a vote. If more than one candidate remains, MPs will vote.
• The presidential vote is not secret but open. Each MP casts one vote. The voter signs the ballot's counterfoil to collect it, then signs their full name beside the name of the candidate they are voting for.
• The candidate with the most votes wins. If two or more candidates tie, the result is decided by lottery.
