Presidential race: Oli opposition’s candidate

Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party alliance yesterday submitted the nomination paper of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Oli Ahmed to contest the 23rd presidential election, slated for August 20.

Jamaat Ameer and Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman and National Citizen Party Joint Secretary General Abdullah Al Amin signed the paper as proposer and seconder, respectively.

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A delegation of the alliance submitted the form to Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin, the returning officer for the election, at the Election Commission office at Agargaon in the morning.

After the submission, Jamaat Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad said presidential elections in Bangladesh have traditionally been uncontested when the ruling party holds a parliamentary majority, with the government side usually fielding a single candidate.

Explaining the decision to field a candidate, Azad said the alliance wanted to establish a new democratic practice and did not want the presidential election to go uncontested.

“Winning or losing is not the issue. What we don’t want is an election without competition. That is the beauty of democracy.” Criticising the BNP’s decision to hold a meeting at the Secretariat to finalise its presidential candidate, Hamidur said, “The Secretariat is an executive office. Holding a top-level political meeting there -- a meeting of the party’s highest forum -- has no precedent in our records.”