The elections to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the platform for apparel manufacturers and exporters, is going to be held in March next year to elect the leadership for 2024-26.

The current board of directors is going to form an election board through a meeting at the BGMEA office today, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said over phone yesterday.

The tenure of the current board of directors will come to an end on April 12.

As per the rules of the trade organisation of the government, the BGMEA election should be held before March 28.

The tentative date for the election is being touted as March 9, with the board having already discussed the date. It is now waiting for it to be finalised, said Faisal Samad, leader of the Forum, a panel of the BGMEA.

Another panel of the BGMEA is Sammilito Parishad. Hassan was elected from this parishad and took charge as the president of the BGMEA in April 2021.

The Department of Trade Organisation (DTO), a body under the commerce ministry, extended the tenure of the current board of directors for one year as many of the incumbent and former leaders were uninterested in holding the BGMEA election before the national election in January.

The incumbent board of the BGMEA was supposed to form a new election commission 90 days before the next election was due to be held, but the time was extended.

Earlier, in an application to the DTO for the extension of the tenure, the leaders of the Sammilto Parishad cited bad business conditions following the Russia-Ukraine war, severe fallouts of Covid-19, and lower inflow of work orders from international clothing retailers and brands.

Former BGMEA presidents Siddiqur Rahman and Atiqul Islam had also extended their time at the helm of the BGMEA.

However, the immediate past president of the BGMEA, Rubana Huq, elected from the Forum panel, did not extend her board's duration and held the election on time.