Presidential election: Abdul Hamid submits nomination

Md Abdul Hamid has submitted his nomination for the presidential election to the Election Commission as a candidate for the Awami League.

A delegation led by Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader took the application to the election’s returning officer, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, at the EC headquarters in Agargaon on Monday.

The submission deadline for the election is 4am on Monday. The applications will be scrutinised on Wednesday and candidates will be able to withdraw until Feb 10.

President Hamid will be re-elected unopposed unless another candidate enters the race. If more than one candidate puts forward their name, parliament will vote on Feb 18 at the Parliament Assembly Hall.

The Awami League’s absolute parliamentary majority makes the 74-year-old Hamid’s election for the second term a mere formality.

Hamid was sworn in as the 20th president of Bangladesh on Apr 24, 2013. According to the constitution, an election to fill the president’s seat has to be held 90 to 60 days before the president’s term expires.

On Jan 31, an Awami League parliamentary board led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina nominated Hamid for a second term.

Hamid is the seventeenth individual to hold the post of president. The coming term is to be Hamid’s last as the constitution limits presidents to two terms.