Four councillors set to be elected board directors unopposed

Four councillors from two different categories are set to be elected unopposed in the upcoming Bangladesh Cricket Board ‘s(BCB) board of directors’ elections, scheduled to be held on June 7.

The candidates are Mir Shakrul Alam Simanto from Rajshahi Division, Mirza Faisal Ahmed from Rangpur Division, Abdul Qaiyum Chowdhury from Sylhet Division (all from Category-1), and Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir from Category-3.

However, the remaining four divisions under Category-1 -- Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna and Barishal -- will go to elections, as more than one candidate submitted nomination papers on the final day of submission on Friday.

From Dhaka Division, Sayed Bin Zaman, S M Abdullah Al Fuad and Jashim Uddin Khoshru submitted their nomination papers. Minhajul Abedin Nannu, Moinuddin Chowdhury and Shoriful Islam are contesting from Chattogram Division, while Shafiqul Alam, Shantanu Islam and Abdus Salam are the candidates from Khulna Division. Two directors will also be elected from each of these three sub-categories.

Meanwhile, Mizanur Rahman and Muntasir Alam Chowdhury submitted their nomination papers for the Barishal Division directorship, from where one director will be elected.
Apart from Category-1, Category-2 is also set to witness elections, with as many as 18 councillors submitting nomination papers before the deadline.

From the club category, 12 directors will be elected.

Earlier, a BCB Election Commission official had informed that a total of 19 councillors had purchased nomination forms in this category.

However, neither during the press conference nor in the subsequent press release did the returning officers disclose the names of the councillors who submitted nomination papers or identify the lone individual who did not, raising eyebrows.

When contacted by The Daily Star, Chief Election Commissioner Ahsanul Karim admitted that the commission should have been more transparent regarding the matter and expressed hope that the names would be published soon.

“I will try to publish the names tomorrow, as I think we should all be transparent regarding these matters,” Ahsanul told The Daily Star.

Scrutiny of nominations and publication of the provisional list will take place on May 23, followed by objections and hearings on May 24, while withdrawal of candidature and publication of the final list are scheduled for May 25.