15 candidates from Sammilito Baboshayee Parishad panel and eight candidates from Baboshayee Oikyo Parishad panel were elected directors of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
The 23 candidates were elected directors from association group for 2023-25 tenure during the biennial election of the apex trade body held on Monday, according to local newspapers.
The successful candidates from the Sammilito Byabshayi Parishad are Hafez Haji Mohammad Enayetullah, BM Shoeb, Meer Nizam Uddin Ahmed, Sirajul Islam, Md Shahidul Haque Molla, Nizam Uddin Rajesh, Md Muntakim Ashraf, Raqibul Alam Dipu, Mohammad Aftab Zaved, Md Ishaqul Hossain Sweet, Amir Hossain Nurani, Syed Md Bakhtiar, Tapan Kuam Majumdar, Salma Hossain Ash, and Haji Md Abul Hashem.
The Byabshayi Oikya Parishad’s winners include Kowser Ahmed, Khandaker Ruhul Amin, Md Amin Helali, Md Niaz Ali Chishty, Abu Motaleb, Shomi Kaiser, Rashedul Hossain Chowdhury Rony, and Hafez Harun.
Representative of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam led the Baboshayee Oikyo Parishad panel while former FBCCI Vice President Mir Nizam Uddin Ahmed led the Sammilito Baboshayee Parishad panel.
Voting in the biennial election was held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. After a counting of the votes, Chairman of FBCCI Election Board for 2023-25 A Matin Chowdhury announced the results in the early hours of Tuesday.
The voter turnout in the election was around 89.35 per cent as 1,746 out of 1,954 voters cast their votes. A total of 49 candidates contested in the election for 23 posts from association group. Besides, 23 candidates from the chamber group were already elected unopposed.
Out of the total 80 posts of the directors of FBCCI, rest 34 directors (17 from the chamber group and 17 from the association group) are usually nominated.
A bdnews24.com report said the newly elected directors will vote on Wednesday to appoint the FBCCI president, vice president, senior vice president, and six assistant presidents.
Notably, the current FBCCI board of directors was elected uncontested in 2021 due to an equal number of contestants and posts.
Salman F Rahman and other former presidents are backing Mahbub Alam, president of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce, to win the FBCCI presidency for the next two years.
A panel of young trade leaders, including former FBCCI President Sheikh Fazle Fahim and former Vice-President Muntakim Ashraf, received the support of the Sammilito Byabshayi Parishad.
“We also had the opportunity to be chosen as directors without contest. But Muntakim, Rajesh, and I chose not to pursue that path. We preferred to be elected by general members rather than being appointed by someone,” said Meer Nizam Uddin, leader of Sammilito Byabshayi Parishad.
