Bangladesh presidential election set for February 16

Jan 29, 2009, 10:54 GMT

   Dhaka - The newly elected National Parliament is to chose Bangladesh's next president on February 16, a government announcement said Thursday.

   According to the election schedule, February 8 was set for the submission of nomination papers for the ceremonial post in the prime minister-dominated parliamentary democracy.

   Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda discussed the election schedule with Speaker of Parliament Abdul Hamid before it was finalized.

   The Bangladesh Constitution stipulates that the vote needs to be held within 30 days from the date of the first sitting of Parliament. The new Parliament first convened Sunday.

   The five-year term of president Iajuddin Ahmed expired in 2007, but the selection of a new president was stalled because Bangladesh was without a Parliament over the past two years when it was ruled by a military-backed emergency government.

   The new Parliament was formed after general elections last month, which was won by an Awami League-led alliance. Its leader and now the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, named senior party leader Zillur Rahman as the ruling alliance's chose for president.

   He would need to secure a majority of the 300 votes in the electoral collage of the National Parliament, which he was expected to do because the ruling alliance holds 262 of the seats.

   There will be no election if only one candidate files nomination papers for the post of head of state, an official said.