The country’s 23rd presidential election is scheduled for Thursday (August 20), and the election will be conducted through a highly transparent process, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Officer A.M.M. Nasir Uddin has said.

Speaking at a press briefing at the Election Commission building in Agargaon, Dhaka, on Wednesday (August 19), he said, “MPs will be able to remain present in Parliament during the counting of votes. The result will be announced in front of everyone. It’s a ‘very transparent method’. So there should be no objection from anyone.”

Explaining the election process, the CEC said it is being conducted under the Presidential Election Act, 1991, and the Presidential Election Rules. Since no presidential election has been held after 1991, there is limited institutional experience with such an election. However, the Election Commission has completed all necessary preparations.

He said that even if Parliament is not in session, a sitting can be convened specifically for the presidential election. In such a case, the CEC can call the sitting. A gazette notification to this effect was issued on August 11, providing the required time before the election.

According to the CEC, members of Parliament are the voters for the presidential election under Article 48(1) of the Constitution. There are 349 voters this time. The election schedule was announced on August 6, while three nomination papers were submitted on August 13.

Of the three nominations, two were submitted on behalf of the 11-party alliance and one by the ruling BNP. BNP’s candidate is Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, while Oli Ahmed Bir Bikram is the candidate of the 11-party alliance. All three nominations were declared valid. None of the candidates withdrew their nominations on August 18, the withdrawal deadline.

Nasir Uddin said voting would take place from 2pm to 5pm on August 20. The president, prime minister, speaker, leader of the opposition and all MPs are voters, making it a high-profile election.

He said vote counting would begin immediately after voting ends and that the result announced by him as the Election Officer would be final. The result will be gazetted at the Election Commission on the same day after counting is completed, with assistance from the Parliament Secretariat.

The CEC also said the voting of the president, prime minister, speaker and leader of the opposition would initially be broadcast live, possibly through Bangladesh Television. Live broadcasting would resume during the vote-counting process.

MPs will also be allowed to remain present during the counting, he said.

“Since our MPs are voters, they can remain present during the counting. They do not have to leave after casting their votes. They can stay during the counting as well. It’s a very transparent method. Very transparent method. So there should be no objection here. They will be able to remain present,” Nasir Uddin said.

Regarding the announcement of the results, he said all details would be disclosed publicly, including the number of ballot papers printed, used, remaining unused, cancelled or damaged. The number of votes received by each candidate would also be announced. The candidate securing a majority of votes would be declared the winner.

“We hope to conduct this historic election in a very good, orderly and fair manner. We have made preparations accordingly. We have covered all conceivable dimensions in our preparation for this election,” the CEC said.

Asked whether the Commission would disclose which MP voted for which candidate, Nasir Uddin said, “I will not announce that. But it is open. In our normal elections, can you see who voted for whom? So, this is open. The name of the voter is on the ballot, and the name of the person you voted for is also there. What more is needed? There is no need for me to count and announce that a particular voter voted for a particular candidate.”

Asked whether the two presidential candidates were being given adequate campaigning opportunities, he said campaigning would not be allowed inside Parliament on election day. However, there is no legal restriction on campaigning outside Parliament.