Voting has begun in the Thakurgaon District Bar Association election, marking the first time in its history that three separate panels are contesting.
Previously, the election featured only two rival panels.
Polling started at 9am and will continue until 4pm on Thursday.
A total of 263 members are set to cast their votes to elect 12 leaders from among 30 candidates.
A key feature of this year’s election is the shift from the traditional two-panel contest—aligned with the Awami League and BNP—to a three-way race. Historically, left-leaning lawyers joined the Awami League-backed panel, while Jamaat-aligned lawyers were part of the BNP-backed panel. This time, Jamaat-leaning lawyers are contesting separately under their own panel, resulting in three panels.
The BNP-backed Bangladesh Nationalist Lawyers Forum panel is the only one fielding candidates for all posts. Senior lawyer Advocate Yusuf Ali is contesting for president, while young lawyer Advocate Jahangir Alam is running for general secretary from this panel.
Following restrictions on political activities, Awami League-leaning lawyers are contesting as an independent panel. Advocate Mostak Alam Tulu and Advocate Sheikh Farid—both former general secretaries of the association—are running for president and general secretary, respectively. However, they claim they are not contesting as a formal panel but as independent candidates.
From the Jamaat-leaning Bangladesh Lawyers’ Council, Advocate Abdul Gaffar is contesting for president and Advocate Yunus Ali for general secretary. Their panel has fielded candidates for 10 out of the 12 posts.
Lawyers believe that eight of the independent candidates are aligned with the Awami League, although the candidates themselves deny forming any panel.
