BGMEA holds election

The biennial election of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) was held yesterday to elect office bearers for the 2025-27 tenure.

The poll began at 8:00am and continued until 5:00pm without a break.

According to BGMEA officials, voting took place simultaneously at polling centres in Dhaka and Chattogram.

In Dhaka, the election was held at the Radisson Hotel, where 1,561 voters cast their ballots, while 303 voters cast theirs at the Chattogram centre.

The two contesting panels are: Forum and Sammilito Parishad.

Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu is leading the Forum panel, while Md Abul Kalam is heading the Sammilito Parishad panel.

BGMEA Administrator Md Anwar Hossain said voting ended peacefully at both centres, with 88.21 percent of votes cast at the Dhaka booth and 83.83 percent in Chattogram.

"The counting is going on, and we may need some more time to announce the final result," the administrator told The Daily Star around 5:20pm.

In the BGMEA election, voters elect 35 directors, who later nominate the president, vice-presidents, and other office bearers.

The BGMEA election was held on March 9 last year, but it drew controversy over alleged tampering of the voter list and accusations that the Sheikh Hasina-led government influenced its outcome.

That year, all 35 director posts were won by the Sammilito Parishad panel, and the panel's leader, SM Mannan Kochi, was elected president.

However, following the fall of the Hasina-led government in August last year, Mannan resigned from the post.

Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Designtex Knitwear Ltd and then senior vice-president of the trade body, was made president after Kochi's resignation.

Later, the government appointed Md Anwar Hossain, vice-chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau, as the administrator of the BGMEA.