Khaleda Zia, Tarique elected unopposed

Khaleda Zia has been re-elected chairperson and her son Tarique Rahman elected, for the first time, senior vice-chairman of the BNP for another three years.  

Jamir Uddin Sircar, BNP standing committee member and chief election commissioner, declared the two top leaders elected unopposed at the party's Nayapaltan headquarters yesterday since "nobody came forward to contest the elections."

Elections to the posts were set to be held during the party's sixth council on March 19.

On behalf of the two top leaders, party joint secretary generals Rizvi Ahmed and Mohammad Shahajahan collected nomination papers on Wednesday and submitted those to returning officer Nazrul Islam Khan on Friday.

"We scrutinised the nomination papers. Today [Sunday] is the last day for withdrawing nomination papers," said Sircar. 

As none of them withdrew their nomination papers, he said, they have been declared elected unopposed.   

In the previous council held in 2009, Khaleda was elected chairperson unopposed while Tarique was made senior vice-chairman.

She has been serving as the party chief since 1984.

This time, the party brought a change in the charter, according to which an election commission will be formed to supervise elections to the top two posts. 

However, party insiders said the new provision would bring no change in the party in the absence of democratic practices.

Elections will not even take place to pick candidates for other posts of the executive committee, including the post of secretary general, as councillors of the party will give absolute power to the BNP chief at the council to form the committee, said a standing committee member.