Jamaat’s Azad says government is ‘misreading’ Opposition role in presidential vote

The government is evaluating the Opposition's participation in the presidential election through a "narrow" lens, Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary General AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad has claimed.

His party contested in the election, aware of the outcome in advance, to make its position clear to the public and press its case for democracy, he said in a statement on Friday.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP's candidate and secretary general, was elected president on Thursday with 255 votes.

His rival, Oli Ahmed of the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, secured 88 votes.

Fakhrul's victory had been a foregone conclusion, with the Opposition's decision to field a candidate producing Bangladesh’s first contested presidential election in nearly 35 years.

"The government is evaluating the Opposition's participation in the presidential election through political narrowness rather than a liberal, democratic lens," he said.

"A cabinet member has said that by taking part in the presidential election while Article 70 remains in force, the Opposition has effectively voided the oath it took at the Constitution Reform Council.

“We want to know: if that argument holds, how does the oath taken as a member of parliament remain valid? No parliamentary election was held through a constitutional process in 2026."

A referendum on constitutional reform was held alongside the February election.

Implementation of the reforms remains stalled, however, amid disagreements over forming the Constitution Reform Council.

"Our position is very clear. The Opposition's participation in the presidential election was a symbolic protest against the limitations of the government's intended reform process, and a fresh step towards democratic practice," Azad said.

"We knew the outcome in advance. Even so, we took part to make our position clear to the public and to press our case for democracy."

He said the public had come to a fresh realisation of why constitutional reform was essential to making Bangladesh's democracy “effective, accountable and sustainable”.

Azad urged the government to grasp the democratic message behind the Opposition's participation, rather than framing it narrowly.

"The government must honour public expectations, implement the referendum verdict and take effective steps towards the necessary constitutional reforms. No government can steer the state long-term while sidelining public aspirations," he said.