Staff Reporter
Senior leader of the ruling Awami League Mohammad Zillur Rahman has been declared next President of the country.
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday unofficially declared him as President-elect of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
Zillur Rahman will be sworn in at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban, the presidential palace, at 7:00pm today. Before taking oath as President, he will resign as an MP.
Chief Justice MM Ruhul Amin is expected to administer oath of office.
In an announcement, Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said. “Mohammad Zillur Rahman has been elected the President of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh under Clause 7 of the President Election Act 1991,”
He said, Rahman was declared president uncontested as his nomination paper was found valid and no other nomination paper was filed for the presidency.
Zillur Rahman, 80, was the lone candidate for the post as the nominee of the ruling Awami League.
With EC declaration there will be no voting scheduled for February 16.
Meanwhile, sources in Bangabhaban said the swearing in ceremony of the new President would be held at 7:00pm at the Darbar Hall of the presidential palace.
“All necessary measures have been taken to administer the swearing in ceremony of the new President today,” a senior official of Bangabhaban told reporters.
Zillur Rahman succeeds Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed, who quits on expiry of his tenure. Prior to his election to presidency he was Deputy Leader of the 9th parliament.
Rahman was elected MP in the ninth parliamentary elections, and past elections of 1973, 1986, 1996 and 2001, from his Kishoreganj (Kuliarchar-Bhairab) constituency after the country’s 1971 independence. He also won the then provincial assembly of erstwhile East Pakistan in 1970 election.
Zillur has two daughters and one son while he lost his wife Ivy Rahman, also a veteran Awami League leader, in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack by suspected militants targeting Sheikh Hasina, who narrowly escaped it.
Talking to reporters at his Gulshan residence the president-elect expressed his desire to work neutrally for the welfare of his countrymen.
Responding to a greeting and replying to a query, Zillur said, “I will do everything possible of my limited capability for safeguarding democracy and people’s welfare. You know well that the President holds limited power. I will do my job as best I can within the limits.”
He said, “I will work neutrally as a President and make no discrimination between the ruling and opposition parties.”
The 80-year-old veteran AL politician was born on March 9 in 1929 at Bhairab in Kishoreganj.
Zillur did his masters in history from Dhaka University and also his law degree from the same university.
He joined politics in his student life.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
