Saturday (August 1) night, the decision was taken at a meeting of the Standing Committee held at the BNP chairperson's political office in Gulshan, the capital.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, BNP Secretary General and Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said that the meeting discussed the country's overall political situation, administrative activities, government development programs and various important issues including local government elections.

Regarding the presidential election, he said the party has entrusted Tarique Rahman with the responsibility of selecting the candidate for the post of president and taking all decisions related to this. He will make the final decision in this matter.

Later, Standing Committee member Salahuddin Ahmed told journalists that holding the presidential election is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission. When the post of president falls vacant, the Speaker performs the duties of acting president, and according to the constitution, the election must be completed within 90 days.

He said the Election Commission has already informed of its preparation to hold the presidential election. After the schedule is announced, Tarique Rahman will determine the party's candidate.

Regarding the presidential election procedure, Salahuddin Ahmed said that after submission and scrutiny of nomination papers, if there is one valid candidate, there will be no need for voting. However, if there are multiple candidates, a special session of the parliament will be convened and voting will be arranged. The Speaker will fix the date of that session in consultation with the Election Commission.

Regarding the local government elections, he said that BNP is continuing its organizational preparations considering the possibility of holding elections at the end of this year or at the beginning of next year.

According to party sources, the meeting, presided over by Tarique Rahman and lasting more than an hour and a half, discussed in detail the upcoming presidential election and the overall political situation of the country. Those present at the meeting were BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Nazrul Islam Khan, Salahuddin Ahmed, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku, Selima Rahman and Dr. A Z M Zahid Hossain.