CWAB election to be held only for presidential post

Despite much hype surrounding the upcoming Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh's (CWAB) elections on September 4, voting will now take place only for the presidential post out of 11 positions.

On Thursday, the final day for nomination submission, only 12 candidates submitted their forms.

The candidates are: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shahriar Hossain Bidyut, Mohammad Mithun, Nurul Hasan Sohan, Shamsur Rahman Shuvo, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rumana Ahmed, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Imrul Kayes, Irfan Sukkur, Akbar Ali, and Salim Shaheed.

Among them, national cricketer Mithun and current ad-hoc committee convener Salim filed nominations for the presidency, while former national opener Bidyut and current wicketkeeper-batter Sohan submitted for senior vice-president and vice-president posts, respectively.

The remaining eight candidates are contesting for executive member positions.

"The election will be held only for the president's post," CWAB chief election commissioner Iftekhar Rahman Mithu told The Daily Star today.

"Bidyut has submitted nomination for senior vice-president, and there is no other candidate for that post. Similarly, only Sohan has submitted for vice-president. The other candidates will contest for member positions. Since there are two candidates for president -- Mithun and Salim Shaheed -- the election will take place only for this post," he added.

It is understood that Mithun is in a favorable position to win the presidency, as he might be favoured by most members of the organisation who are active players.

Iftekhar, who is also a BCB director, confirmed that the nomination forms will be reviewed before final confirmation on August 30, which is also the last date for withdrawal.

Meanwhile, he said that a voter list of 212 has been prepared, and the possibility of arranging e-voting is being explored.

"We are trying to arrange this. We will confirm it on August 30 after reviewing all aspects. Bangladesh players will return on September 3. The vote will be held between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm, following the AGM, which starts at 1:30 pm," he concluded.