The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) election is all set to have contests in different categories as the deadline for submission of nomination forms by aspiring candidates for board director posts ended on Thursday.
BCB Election Commission returning officer Mohammad Taherul Haque Chouhan, additional commissioner (crime and operations) of Gazipur Metropolitan Police, said that 14 nomination papers were submitted in Category-1, 18 in Category-2 and one in Category-3 ahead of the election scheduled for 7 June.
With 10 director posts available in Category-1 and 12 in Category-2, voting now appears certain in several divisions as well as in the club category.
According to the nomination list disclosed by the Election Commission following repeated requests from reporters at the press conference room of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, elections are set to take place in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna and Barishal divisions in Category-1.
Dhaka division has three candidates contesting for two seats — Sayeed Bin Zaman, SM Abdullah Al Fuad and Jasim Uddin Khan Khosru.
Former Bangladesh captain Minhajul Abedin Nannu is among three candidates contesting for two positions in Chattogram division alongside Moin Uddin Chowdhury and Shariful Islam of Feni.
Khulna division will also see a three-way battle for two seats between Shafiqul Alam, Shantanu Islam and Abdus Salam, while Barishal division has two candidates — Muntasir Alam of Bhola and Mizanur Rahman of Barishal division — contesting for one seat.
Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet divisions each had one nomination submitted, with Mir Shakhrul Alam of Bogura (Rajshahi division), Mirza Faisal Amin (Rangpur division) and Abdul Kaiyum (Sylhet division) now on course to be elected unopposed as directors if their papers survive scrutiny.
The club category is also expected to go to polls after 14 candidates submitted nomination papers against 12 available director positions.
Taherul said that all nomination papers would now undergo scrutiny in accordance with the amended BCB constitution and election regulations before the final candidate list is published on Friday.
“We will examine everything according to the constitution and the election guidelines,” Taherul told reporters.
The returning officer initially declined to publicly disclose the names of candidates who submitted forms, arguing that the Election Commission’s mandate only required publication after verification.
However, after persistent questioning from journalists over transparency concerns, the commission later revealed the divisional breakdown of candidates and confirmed the lone nominee in Category-3.
Experienced sports organiser Sirajuddin Mohammad Alamgir emerged as the only candidate to submit nomination papers from Category-3 and is now set to become director unopposed subject to scrutiny clearance.
Taherul also clarified confusion surrounding former cricketer Shahriar Hossain, who had collected a nomination form earlier but did not eventually submit it.
According to the returning officer, Shahriar was found ineligible to contest under provisions of the BCB constitution despite being eligible to remain a councillor.
“He can remain a councillor, but he is not eligible to become a director under this category,” Taherul explained.
The Election Commission is expected to publish the verified list of candidates after scrutiny on 23 May.
