Two candidates will contest presidential election on August 20: EC Secretary

 Two candidates will contest the presidential election scheduled for August 20, said Election Commission (EC) Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Tuesday. 

“Arrangements have been made for voting in the presidential election from 2 pm to 5 pm on August 20 in the session hall of the National Parliament building,” he said while breafing journalist at the Election Building in the city’s Agargaon. 

He said that according to the Presidential Election Act of 1991, today was the last day for withdrawing nomination papers. 

"After scrutiny, we informed that the candidacies of two candidates were found valid. Neither of them withdrew their nomination papers. Accordingly, two candidates will contest the presidential election on August 20. 

They are Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Colonel (retd.) Ali Ahmed, Bir Bikram,” he added.

Akhtar said that at the start of voting in the presidential election, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin will brief the voters about the voting procedure. "After that, we will begin the voting there,” he added. 

"We’ve printed the ballot papers. In the presidential election, the ballot paper has two parts, one is the counterfoil, and the other is the ballot paper itself. Members of Parliament will sign their full names to receive the ballot," he said. 

On the right side of the ballot paper, the names of the contesting candidates will be arranged according to the initial letters of the Bengali alphabet. Their names will be printed accordingly.

 Next to the print, on the right side, there will be a space where lawmakers will vote by signing their full names. After that, they will deposit the ballot paper into the designated ballot box, said the EC secretary. 

Ballots will be accepted until 5 pm. Counting will commence after 5 pm.

Akhtar added, "In counting, we know the total number of voters is 349. We will see how many Members of Parliament voted, how many ballots were valid, how many ballots were rejected, how many ballots remained unused, and based on the valid votes received, the candidate who receives the most votes will be declared the winner by the returning officer right there in the parliament. 

After that, a gazette will be published."

Replying to a question, the EC Secretary said, "The preliminary result will be announced after voting. Then the gazette will be published. It shouldn't take much more time. Only the minimum necessary time will be required."