Presidential election today, 349 MPs to vote

There are a total of 349 MPs as voters in the presidential election.

At a press conference after the ruling party's parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament House yesterday Wednesday, the chief whip of Parliament, Noorul Islam Moni, gave this information.

He said, after 35 long years, MPs will vote in the presidential election on Thursday. Voting will begin at 2 pm and continue until 5 pm.

The chief whip said, to ensure transparency in voting, live broadcast will begin five minutes before the start of polling. The scenes of the President, Speaker, Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and BNP presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir casting their votes will be broadcast live.

Once their voting is over, the subsequent voting process will be recorded. Live broadcast will resume five minutes before the end of voting. He said the announcement of results will also be broadcast live.

Oath tomorrow

Chief Whip Noorul Islam Moni said the oath-taking ceremony of the new president who wins the election will be held tomorrow Friday at 7:30 pm at Bangabhaban.

He said, through the presidential election and oath, a new chapter will begin in the country's democratic journey.

Emotional Fakhrul at parliamentary party meeting

Ahead of the presidential election, the BNP parliamentary party meeting was held yesterday on the ninth floor of the National Parliament House. Presidential candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was also present at the meeting presided over by the Leader of the House and Prime Minister Tareq Rahman.

In the meeting, Mirza Fakhrul urged the party's MPs to vote for him. In his speech, he recalled BNP's late chairperson Khaleda Zia and the party's founder, former president Ziaur Rahman, and highlighted their contributions to the party.

He also expressed gratitude to the party chairman and Prime Minister Tareq Rahman for trusting him for a long time and giving him responsibility. He also asked the MPs for their prayers.

According to several MPs present at the meeting, Fakhrul became emotional at the beginning of his speech. When he broke down in tears several times, an emotional atmosphere was created in the meeting. They also said Prime Minister Tareq Rahman became emotional at that time.

Referring to going to Bangabhaban as the likely president, Fakhrul said if elected, he would miss his colleagues and asked for their prayers.

EC ready for election

Meanwhile, the Chief Election Officer and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin has said all preparations have been completed to hold the presidential election fairly and peacefully.

In a briefing to journalists at the election building yesterday, he said all necessary preparations for the presidential election have been completed and there is no shortfall in preparation. He also said cooperation from everyone involved in the election is being received.

The CEC said, after the voting ends, details of how many votes each candidate received, how many votes were invalid, and other information will be announced. After announcing the name of the candidate who gets the majority of votes, a gazette of the results will be published.

Those concerned see this presidential election as an important chapter in the country's political history. Through voting, counting and announcement of results, it will be determined today who will be Bangladesh's 23rd president.