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The apex body for the knitwear exporters, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association announced the election schedule for its board of directors and office bearers for the term of 2025-2027.
The election will take place on May 10 at two centres of KMEA’s head office at Chashara in Narayanganj and its Dhaka office.
Voters can cast their respective votes from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm without any break, according to the election schedule.
Shafiullah Chowdhury, chairman of the BKMEA election board, recently issued the election schedule and rules.
Following the Trade Organisation Rules of 1994 and Section 13 (2) of the BKMEA Memorandum and Articles of Association, the election will elect 35 directors.
Nine office bearers, including president, executive president and seven vice-presidents, will be chosen from among them.
As per the schedule, the primary voter list will be published on March 13, followed by the final voter list on March 25 after any complaints are addressed, if any.
The election commission will release the list of nominated candidates on April 16, with candidates having the option to withdraw by 3:00 pm on April 19, according to the schedule.
The final candidate list will be published on the same day at 5:00 pm.
Voters can collect their voter identification cards between April 20 and May 08.
The primary results will be announced after the voting on May 10.
The election for office bearers will take place on May 15 and the result will be published on May 17.
The election board also introduced rules to govern the electoral process. It emphasised that all activities would adhere to the Trade Organisation Rules, 1994 and BKMEA’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Talking over the election, BKMEA president Mohammad Hatem said that members have been deprived of the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights for a long time.
"We have decided to hold early elections and formed both the election and appeal boards. After the July uprising, the then-president resigned showing personal reasons, creating a leadership vacuum. The board then appointed me as president for the remainder of the term," he said.
During this interim period, they maintained contact with the government to ensure policy support for the industry, he added.
"Just as Bangladesh is progressing with democratic elections, we also decided to allow our members to elect their leadership through a democratic process, even though our board’s term is set to end in September," he added.
He also confirmed his candidacy as Combined Knit Forum panel leader.
Salim Osman led BKMEA since July 22, 2010 and since then, the association has not staged a competitive election, though it held elections in advance of each election, with nomination papers coming from a single panel.
On August 25, 2024, Mr Osman resigned after the Sheikh Hasina-led government was overthrown earlier that month amid a widespread uprising.
Following his resignation, Mohammad Hatem, managing director of MB Knit Fashion Limited, was appointed new president.