Bangladesh to hold presidential election in late April

Bangladesh will hold a presidential election in late April, the country’s election commission says.
Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad made the announcement at a press conference at his office in Dhaka on Tuesday evening, setting the date for the election as April 29, Xinhua reported.

On March 20, the presidential post was made vacant after Bangladeshi President Zillur Rahman died at the Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore, where he was receiving medical treatment.

Bangladeshi Parliament Speaker Abdul Hamid has been the acting president since then.

According to the country’s constitution, the 20th president must be elected before June this year.

The acting president has called the next session of the parliament on April 21 when MPs will elect the decorative post in the parliamentary democracy.

Those who want to run for election must submit their nomination papers on April 21, and the deadline for the withdrawal of nomination papers is April 24.