Published : 09 Aug 2026, 06:50 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:31 AM
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has collected two nomination forms from the Electoral Officer’s office for the presidential election.
Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi collected the forms at the Election Commission building in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Sunday.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin is serving as the election officer for the presidential election.
Ashraful Alam, the CEC's private secretary, said the BNP collected the two nomination forms after 11am.
CEC Nasir Uddin and Election Commission Secretary Akhter Ahmed were present at the time.
The Election Commission has scheduled the presidential election for Aug 20.
Under the election schedule, prospective candidates can submit nomination papers on Aug 13.
The nomination papers will be scrutinised on Aug 16, while Aug 18 is the deadline for withdrawing candidacies.
A member of parliament must act as a proposer and another as a seconder for a presidential candidate.
A candidate may submit more than one nomination paper, but one will be finalised after scrutiny.
If there is only one candidate, that person will be declared elected unopposed. If there are multiple candidates, voting will take place.
The election will be held in the parliament chamber on Aug 20.
The ruling BNP holds a two-thirds majority in parliament. Therefore, the party's nominated candidate is expected to become president, leaving the election largely a formality.
The 22nd and last president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, submitted his nomination papers in person at the office of the chief election commissioner in 2023.
However, under the Presidential Election Rules, a presidential candidate does not have to be present to collect or submit nomination papers. The candidate's proposer or seconder can submit a nomination paper signed by the candidate.
The election is being held ahead of schedule after Shahabuddin resigned on Jul 24 citing serious health problems.
As per the Constitution, Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad is currently discharging the functions of president until a new president is elected.
Deputy Speaker Kayser Kamal is performing the duties of speaker during this period.
The Constitution requires a new president to be elected within 90 days of the office becoming vacant.
