The Jamaat-led 11-party alliance has collected a nomination form for Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Col (retd) Oli Ahmad as its candidate for the presidential election.
The alliance collected the nomination form from the office of the Chief Election Commissioner at Nirbachan Bhaban in the capital’s Agargaon on Monday.
Earlier, a delegation led by Hamidur Rahman Azad, coordinator of the 11-party alliance, arrived at the Election Commission (EC) around 11am.
Jamaat MPs Colonel (retd) Abdul Baten, Kamal Hossain, Rashedul Islam, Nurunnisa Siddika and Marzia Begum; Labour Party Chairman Mostafizur Rahman Iran; LDP Acting Secretary General Billal Miyazi; JAGPA General Secretary Iqbal Hossain; Bangladesh Khilafat Andolan Secretary General Mufti Fakhrul Islam; and Bangladesh Khelafat Majlis Organising Secretary Mohammad Faisal, among others, were present.
Asked why the Jamaat-led alliance fielded a candidate even though the ruling party’s candidate is expected to win the election, Hamidur Rahman Azad said, “Winning or losing is not the issue here.
“We are trying to bring back democratic practice and move forward through the democratic process. Article 59 of the Constitution states that all levels of the state’s governance system should be run by elected representatives,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, the 11-party alliance named Oli Ahmad as its candidate for the presidential election.
Opposition Chip Whip and National Citizen Party (NCP) Convener Nahid Islam made the announcement following a meeting of the alliance at the official residence of Leader of the Opposition Dr Shafiqur Rahman at Minto Road in the capital.
Meanwhile, the ruling BNP on Sunday collected two nomination forms for the upcoming presidential election.
BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi and Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni collected the forms from the Returning Officer’s office in the Nirbachan Bhaban in Agargaon.
On August 6, the EC announced the schedule for the presidential election, setting August 20 as the voting date, following the resignation of Shahabuddin as President on July 24.