Veteran Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has been elected as the 23rd president of Bangladesh.
While usually presidents in Bangladesh have been elected through a consensus, this was the first presidential election in 35 years that saw an election with the Jamaat also putting up a candidate.
Banga Bhaban, the Bangladesh president’s official residence, is making the necessary arrangements for the oath-taking ceremony for the newly elected president on Friday evening. Former Chief Advisor of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, congratulated Alamgir on his election as the 23rd president of Bangladesh. When Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman was forced into exile, Alamgir became the main visible leader on the ground to steer the party under the guidance of the then acting BNP chairman from London. When Rahman was elected president this year, Alamgir was appointed as a cabinet minister and has remained a close aide of the prime minister.
An election to fill the vacant office of the president must be held within 90 days of the post becoming vacant due to resignation, according to Article 123(2) of the Bangladesh Constitution. The last contested presidential election was held on October 8, 1991, when BNP candidate Abdur Rahman Biswas defeated Awami League candidate Badrul Haider Chowdhury to become the country’s 11th president. On July 24 this year, Mohammed Shahabuddin resigned as president, and Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad took charge as the acting president around two years before the end of his term. Shahabuddin was the only constitutional office holder who remained in office after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina regime in August 2024. Voting was held from 2:00pm to 5:00pm to allow Members of Parliament (MPs) to cast their votes through an open ballot to elect the country’s 23rd president. Earlier reporting noted: BNP’s Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir elected as Bangladesh’s new President Ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was on Thursday (August 20, 2026) elected as the country’s new President in the first contested poll for the post in 35 years. Alamgir secured 255 votes while Oli Ahmad bagged 88 votes, he said. Earlier reporting noted: The President-elect will take the oath as Bangladesh’s new President on Friday (August 21, 2026) evening at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban.
Since then, no voting was required in the successive presidential elections, as a single candidate was elected uncontested in each election. Earlier reporting noted: Mr.
