SM Mannan Kochi is going to be the next president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), as his panel achieved a landslide victory in the biennial election of the trade body held on March 9.

Sammilito Parishad led by Kochi, chairman of Seha Design (BD) Ltd, bagged all 35 posts of directors in the election.

Two panels -- Sammilito Parishad and Forum – contested in the elections.

Faisal Samad is the panel leader of the Forum.

Of the 35 posts of directors, 26 were in Dhaka and nine in Chattogram region.

Kochi is the general secretary of Awami League of Dhaka North City Corporation and also the existing senior vice president of the BGMEA.

This election will elect the new executive committee for 2024-26 tenure at BGMEA's Dhaka and Chattogram offices.

At the Dhaka centre, 1,839 out of the 2,032 votes were casted.

At the Chattogram polling centre, 387 out of 464 were casted.

Voting started at 10am and continued until 5pm at the BGMEA's Dhaka and Chattogram offices, said Jahangir Alamin, chairman of the BGMEA election board for 2024-26 tenure.

The election ran peacefully and no untoward incident took place, he said.

The results of the votes will be announced at late night.

In the election, the general voters elect 35 directors and then the elected directors will nominate the president and vice presidents.

The tenure of the current board, which took charge in April 2021, expires this March.

The term of the current board was extended for a total of one year in two phases, citing the critical phase the garment sector has been going through because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the dollar crisis and energy shortage.

The extension in the last six months was allowed because many lawmakers, who are also garment manufacturers and exporters, were not interested in participating in the BGMEA election before the national polls on January 7.