Presidential candidate Oli Ahmad cannot vote in election

Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed will contest today’s presidential election but will not be able to cast a ballot himself because he is not a member of parliament and is therefore not on the presidential electoral roll.

Voting is scheduled to take place from 2pm to 5pm on Thursday (August 20) in the Jatiya Sangsad chamber, where Oli is challenging BNP-nominated candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.

Only members of parliament are eligible to vote in the presidential election. As Oli is not an MP, he is neither an elector nor permitted to enter the parliamentary chamber for the voting process.

The election marks the first contested presidential vote in nearly 35 years. After the parliamentary system was restored in 1991, MPs elected the president that year. The following seven presidential elections did not require voting because there were no rival candidates.

A total of 349 MPs are on the electoral roll this time, as the Chattogram-4 constituency is vacant. A candidate needs at least 175 votes to secure a majority and win the election.

The BNP currently has 247 MPs, while the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance has 90 lawmakers.

According to the Election Commission, MPs must sign against their names at a designated place before receiving their ballot papers. They will then mark and sign the ballot beside their preferred candidate’s name before depositing it in the designated ballot box.

Counting will begin immediately after voting ends, with Chief Election Commissioner A M M Nasir Uddin, acting as the returning officer, expected to announce the result.

Unlike Oli, Fakhrul will be able to vote for himself as he is a sitting MP and is included on the electoral roll.

The deadline for withdrawing candidacies expired on August 18, with neither candidate withdrawing. The Election Commission will publish the election result in a gazette after the vote.