Dhaka [Bangladesh], August 21: Senior politician Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, 78, has been overwhelmingly elected president of Bangladesh, the country's top election official announced on Thursday, in the country's first contested presidential election in 35 years.
Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said Alamgir, the nominee of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), secured 255 votes, while his opponent Oli Ahmed, nominated by the opposition Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, received only 88 votes.
Under Bangladesh's parliamentary system, the presidency is largely ceremonial, with executive authority resting with the prime minister.
Alamgir is scheduled to be sworn in as Bangladesh's 23rd President on Friday at the Bangabhaban presidential palace in Dhaka.
Source: Qatar Tribune
