Voting ends in BGMEA election
During the election, 1,996 votes, out of 2,314, were cast in Dhaka and Chattogram
Highlights:
- Voter turnout: 86%
- Total vote cast: 1,996
- 1,604 in Dhaka
- 392 in Chattogram
- Panels participating:
- Sammilita Parishad, led by Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group
- Forum, led by freedom fighter ABM Shamsuddin, chairman and managing director of Hannan Group
More than 86% vote has been cast in the biennial election to the Bangladeshi Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
During the election 1,996 votes were cast – 1,604 in Dhaka and 392 in Chattogram. As per the final voter list, 2,314 voters – 1,853 in Dhaka and 461 in Chattogram – were supposed to choose association office bearers.
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The voting started at 9am and continued without any break till 7pm.
The voters in Dhaka region cast votes in 14 booths installed at the hotel Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, while the voters in Chattogram region cast votes in four booths installed at the regional office of the BGMEA in Chattogram.
The election was held peacefully without any major untoward incidents.
The voters cast their votes following the health guidelines, but a few voters were seen not wearing the masks all the time during the polls.
A total of 70 candidates from the two major panels – Sammilita Parishad and Forum – are contesting the battle in Dhaka and Chattogram.
Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group, is leading the Sammilita Parishad in the election. He is a former senior vice president of the BGMEA. He also served as the president of the Dutch-Bangla Chamber of Commerce and Industries. Currently, Hassan serves as the honorary consul general of Greece in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, freedom fighter ABM Shamsuddin, chairman and managing director of Hannan Group, has taken the helm of the Forum. He also is a former vice-president (finance) of the BGMEA.
The BGMEA election board has taken some cautionary measures to avoid risk of coronavirus spread during the election, according to BGMEA officials.
They decided to increase the vote casting time by three hours to avoid a crowd of voters.
This year, each panel has confirmed the list of its 35 members. Both the panels have picked up 26 candidates from the Dhaka region and nine candidates from the Chattogram region.
