Vote casting for the biyearly elections of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) began in the centres of its Dhaka and Chittagong regions at 10am on Saturday.
Speaking to the media, BGMEA election board Chairman Jahangir Alamin said that vote casting is being held peacefully in the centres of both Dhaka and Chittagong regions with vibrant participations of the voters.
He also said that both panels are very co-operative and enthusiastic.
According to the BGMEA, the vote casting will continue till 5pm and some 2,496 members of the apex trade body will elect 35 directors for 2024-25 tenure by marking “cross” on the ballot paper.
In the Dhaka region, voters casted their ballots at booths set up at the BGMEA Uttara office, while the voters in the Chittagong region participated in the polls at the trade body's regional office in the port city.
A total of 70 candidates are contesting under two panels – Sammilito Parishad and Forum. Of the 35 directors, 26 will be picked up from Dhaka, while nine will be elected from Chittagong region.
This year, Seha Designs BD Ltd Managing Director and Rime Apparels Chairman SM Mannan Kochi is the panel leader of the Sammilito Parishad. Kochi, who is also serving as general secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan North Awami League, is also the senior vice-president in the current board of the BGMEA.
On the other hand, the panel leader of the Forum is Faisal Samad who is the director of the running board of the BGMEA and former vice-president of the apex trade body. Samad is the managing director of Savartex Group and Surma Garments Ltd.
On December 4, 2023, the BGMEA board of directors formed a three-member election board headed by Jahangir Alamin, former president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
It also formed a three-member election appellate board headed by Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Kamran T Rahman.
In a letter, BGMEA president Faruque Hassan has urged all the members to remain united for a better future of the RMG industry.
The current board led by Faruque Hassan took power in the 2021 election where the Sammilito Parishad won 24 out of 35 directorships in Dhaka and Chittagong while Forum won 11.
Although the tenure of the current board was supposed to expire in April last year, it extended the term by one year in two phases.
