Staff Reporter:

Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmad, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been named the presidential candidate of the 11-party alliance led by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the alliance’s top leaders at the official residence of the leader of the opposition on Minto Road in the capital today, Sunday.

Nahid Islam, chief whip of the opposition and convener of the National Citizens Party (NCP), announced the decision at a briefing at around 12:50 pm after the meeting.

Speaking to journalists, Nahid Islam said the BNP had shown reluctance towards the July Charter and state reforms. They are moving forward in the same way as previous governments.

It was expected that the presidential election would be held after reforms based on the July Charter. But the BNP has taken no initiative in this regard, added the NCP leader.

Nahid Islam further said that if the BNP had pursued reforms, the ruling and opposition parties could have jointly fielded a single candidate for president. But they did not do so. Therefore, the 11-party alliance is fielding a separate candidate for the presidency, he said.

The Election Commission (EC) has announced the schedule for the presidential election. According to the schedule, the sale of nomination forms has begun.

The deadline for submitting nomination papers is 13 August, followed by scrutiny. The last date for withdrawing nomination papers is 18 August, and voting will take place in the chamber of the Jatiya Sangsad on 20 August.

Under the Constitution, members of parliament will vote in the presidential election. A candidate for the presidency must also have the support and nomination of a member of parliament.