There are three names under consideration for the next president of the country and they are - Mashiur Rahman, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and engineer Mosharraf Hossain.
Sources at the policy making level of Awami League have confirmed this.
A relevant source says the presidential candidate from the ruling Awami League can be chosen by next week. The Awami League has the majority in the parliament. Therefore, it is certain that the Awami League nominated candidate will be the next president.
Names of more than a dozen persons were under consideration for the post of president in the last few months. Top among those names were Mashiur Rahman, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, engineer Mosharraf Hossain, Anisul Haque and justice Khairul Haque.
According to the sources at the Awami League’s policy making level, party president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina has shortened the list after various sorts of verification.
So far prime minister’s economic affairs advisor Mashiur Rahman is on the top of the list.
However, the issue of choosing the next president from among the politicians came up in the discussions of a section close to the party president. In this case, they kept the names of speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and presidium member Mosharraf Hossain under consideration.
There are no clear instructions regarding choosing the party candidate for the post of the president of the country. However, the party has a parliamentary board.
The duty of this board is to nominate candidates for all elections, including the general election. This parliamentary board will choose the candidate for the next president of the country.
This issue could be raised in the meeting of the parliamentary committee of the ruling Awami League as well.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Matia Chowdhury, presidium member of the Awami League and deputy leader of the parliament, said, “Names of different persons were published in various media outlets. The party chooses the candidate for the post of president through a process. It’s not prudent to make any remark regarding this before that. The party president is working on this.”
Politicians or bureaucrats?
Mashiur Rahman served as the personal officer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman after the independence. He became the secretary of the Economic Relations Division after the Awami League came to power in 1996. Following that, he served in various posts, including the chairman of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Mashiur Rahman was appointed the prime minister’s economic affairs advisor after the Awami League came to power for the second time. He has been in this post since then. He is also a member of the advisory council of the Awami League. Considering his age, proximity to the prime minister and experience, he has a better chance of becoming the next president.
On condition of anonymity, a central leader of Awami League said, “The party has formed several sub-committees of its secretarial unit recently. Mashiur Rahman has been made the chairman of the finance and planning sub-committee. Mashiur’s appointment in this post right before the presidential election has created doubts among the party members over his selection as the party-nominated candidate for the post of president. However, Mashiur has served in this in the past as well. Usually the members of the advisory council are made the chairmen of the sub-committees.
There were rumours on social media that speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury is going to be the next president. There were discussions that people close to the speaker, ministers and MPs already had congratulated her in advance. However, people close to the speaker say that she is a bit embarrassed over the discussions on social media before getting any confirmation from the party.
According to the sources in the Awami League, party president Sheikh Hasina has expressed her wish to appoint a woman as the president of the country at different times. In that case, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury would be the best candidate, the party leaders said. If she becomes the next president of the country, then all top posts of the country, including the prime minister, leader of the parliament, deputy leader of the parliament and the opposition leader of the parliament, will be occupied by women.
The party leaders have termed this situation as startling. However, there is a discussion within the party that considering the need of experienced persons in leading the parliament, Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury may be retained as the speaker. Besides, many are not considering her due to her age.
Again many are considering AL presidium member engineer Mosharraf Hossain a powerful candidate for the post as a complete politician. He was elected as the MP for the first time in 1970. So far he has been elected the MP six times competing in the election as an Awami League nominated candidate. He also has served as a member of the cabinet. He has already informed the prime minister that he would not be a candidate in the upcoming general election.
Many in the party believe that he will be given the honour of being the president of the country for his lifelong service in the politics of Awami League. He was placed right after the party president in the presidium council of the new committee of the Awami League formed on 24 December.
Many are considering this as an indication of Mosharraf Hossain being the next president. However, he is 79 years of old. Therefore, many have doubts over him considering his physical condition.