The elections of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) will be held tomorrow (Sunday) at the board's headquarters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, with 15 director posts up for grabs.
Of the 25 director positions, 10 have already been effectively decided, with eight directors elected unopposed and two more set to be nominated by the National Sports Council (NSC).
From Category-1, former national captain Minhajul Abedin Nannu and Moyeen Uddin Chowdhury were elected unopposed from Chattogram Division after Shoriful Islam Apu of Feni District Sports Association withdrew despite having his nomination accepted.
Sayed Bin Zaman and S.M. Abdullah Al Fuad also secured uncontested victories from Dhaka Division, while Mir Shakrul Alam Simanto (Rajshahi), Mirza Faisal Amin (Rangpur), Abdul Qaiyum Chowdhury (Sylhet) and Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir from Category-3 were elected unopposed.
Elections, however, will be held in Khulna and Barishal divisions, where the number of candidates exceeds the available positions. Three directors will be elected from the two divisions.
In Khulna, Mohammad Shafiqul Alam, Shantanu Islam and Mohammad Abdus Salam will compete for two seats, while Mohammad Mizanur Rahman and Mohammad Muntasir Alam Chowdhury will contest for a lone seat in Barishal.
Voting will also take place in the club category despite the withdrawals of Mohammad Lutfor Rahman of Legends of Rupganj and Mohammad Mahmud-ur-Rahman of Old DOHS Sports Club. A total of 16 candidates will contest for 12 positions.
The candidates are Fahim Sinha, Masuduzzaman, Asif Rabbani, Foiyazur Rahman, Yasir Mohammed Foysal Ashik, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Amzad Hossain, Mirza Yasir Abbas, Israfil Khosru, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam Babu, Professor Dr. Sarkar Mahbub Ahmed Shamim, Shanian Taneem, Sayeed Ibrahim Ahmed, Syed Borhanul Hossain, Shafiq Ahmed Salam and Major Imroze Ahmed (Retd).
The president election will be held at the same day after the councillors exercise their votes to elect the BCB directors.
Ahead of the election, the 16 club-category candidates attended a "meet and greet" programme with councilors in Dhaka on Friday night, presenting their credentials and seeking support.
Addressing the gathering, ad hoc BCB president Tamim Iqbal urged prospective directors to put the interests of Bangladesh cricket above personal identities and affiliations.
"Among these candidates there are cricketers, businessmen, doctors and people from political families," Tamim said. "But for the sake of Bangladesh cricket, regardless of who gets elected, we must leave our personal identities outside when we enter Mirpur Stadium. Once you sit in that chair, your only responsibility is to serve Bangladesh cricket."
"Personal identity is not important here. What matters is your desire to work for the game," he added.
Tamim also stressed the importance of bringing fresh ideas into cricket administration, expressing confidence in younger candidates despite their relative lack of experience.
"Experience certainly has value and experienced organizers are important," he said. "At the same time, I believe young, energetic and fresh-minded people are equally important. Fortunately, we have many such individuals among the candidates. Hopefully, if elected, they will serve Bangladesh cricket well."
Tamim hopes that the upcoming election would usher in a more settled administration in BCB.
"A lot has happened over the past one and a half to two years. I have spoken about many of these issues before," he said.
"Hopefully, after this election, whoever is elected will form a settled board. A stable board can take Bangladesh cricket forward and help the game progress in the right direction.