The election to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will be held today to elect the office bearers of the trade body for the next two years.
The election will start at 8am and will continue till 4pm without any break,
said Chairman of the election board Jahangir Alamin, former president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
The voting will be held at the BGMEA’s Nurul Kader Auditorium in the city.
A total of 1,955 voters are expected to cast their ballot in today’s (Saturday) election to pick new leaders of the apparel industry, which accounts for over 80 per cent of the country’s total exports.
Two panels-Sammilita Parishad-Forum and ‘Shadhinata Parishad’-are contesting in the elections of the trade body.
Rubana Huq, Managing Director of Mohammadi Group and wife of former BGMEA President and Dhaka North City Corporation mayor Annisul Huq, is heading the Sammilita Parishad-Forum panel while Md Jahangir Alam, Managing Director of Design and Source Limited, is leading Shadhinata Parishad.
Both Rubana Huq and Md Jahangir Alam said they are happy with the preparation of the polls, as so far no untoward incident took place.
In the election, the voters will pick a total of 35 directors — 26 from Dhaka and nine from Chittagong-for two years.
A total of 44 garment industry owners are vying for the 35 director posts of the BGMEA.
Of them, 26 are contesting from Sammilita Parishad-Forum panel, 17 from Shadhinata Parishad and one independent candidate.
Nine directors from the Chittagong zone have already been elected unopposed.
The elected directors will select one president and four vice-presidents to run the association for two years. Among the vice-presidents, one will be elected from Chittagong region and others from Dhaka region.
“So far I am satisfied with the arrangement of the election. I am confident that the election will be hold in a cordial atmosphere,” Md Jahangir Alam, leader of Shadhinata Parishad, told The New Nation over phone.
Shadhinata Parishad has already announced their 12-point electoral pledges that include working both for the welfare of the owners and workers.
“If my panel is elected, it will work for further development of the industry as well as upheld interest of the garment owners,” said Md Jahangir Alam.
Since beginning of the trade body, the Sammilita Parishad and the Forum have been competing against each other in the BGMEA election. But in the last few elections, leaders were elected through a compromise between the two rival panels.
The current board under the leadership of its president, Md Siddiqur Rahman, also assumed office on September 22, 2015 for a two-year term through a negotiation process with the rival panel.
As per the negotiation, Siddiqur-led Sammilita Parishad holds 19 posts of directorship and Forum 16 posts.
Although the tenure of the board was two years, the incumbents remain in office for more than three and a half years as the government extended their tenure thrice.
During the negotiation in 2015, both Sammilita Parishad and Forum agreed in principle that Forum would get the post of president of the trade body for the next tenure.
As per the negotiation, Forum is supposed to assume the office of BGMEA for the next term and being the Sammilita Parishad-Forum panel leader Rubana Huq is set to become the new BGMEA president.
“The election atmosphere is good and I am hopeful about the election,” Rubana Huq told The New Nation.
“If I elected, I will put my best effort to ensure congenial working environment in garment industry and negotiate with government for framing suitable policies for the industry. I will also work for the welfare of the workers.
The last election to BGMEA was held on September 22, 2015.
