FBCCI polls unlikely as directors elected uncontested

The biennial election of the country's apex trade body may not take place on May 5 as candidates have been elected uncontested after four hopefuls withdrew their candidature.

According to the election schedule, yesterday was the last day to withdraw names from the polls of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) for 2021-23.

On the ultimate day, two prospects from the chamber group and two from the association group withdrew their candidature, said an associate of the election board.

"We've scrutinised the validity of the candidature and found that four have proposed to withdraw their candidacy," he said, asking not to be named.

Md Ali Zaman, president of the SME Owners Association of Bangladesh and among the four hopefuls, however, said he didn't take any decision to withdraw his candidature as yet.

"We will need to wait until May 5," he said, without elaborating.

However, the person in the election board said it verified the signature of the applicants who applied to pull out their candidacy from the polls.


Ali Ashraf, chairman of the election board, declined to touch upon the issue.

"We can't say anything until May 5 according to the election schedule," he said.

In the FBCCI election, prospects contest from two groups: chambers and associations.

Chambers and associations from in the united states submit their representatives to contest the election.

In the election, 23 directors are chosen from the chamber group and another 23 from the association group.

After the final scrutiny, all 23 posts of directors from each group have already been finalised, the election board member said. So, a complete of 46 candidates have almost been found by the board, he said.

Another 34 nominated directors -- 17 each from the association group and the chamber group -- will join the elected directors. The total number of the post of directors is 80.

However, for the 2021-23 tenure, the board would contain 78 directors as the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies and the Gopalganj Chamber of Commerce and Industry didn't submit their directors.

The chamber group and the association group contain the post of the president alternately.

For the next 2 yrs, the president will be elected from the association group according to the guidelines of the FBCCI election. Sheikh Fazle Fahim, the outgoing president, was elected from the chamber group.

As the apex trade body, the FBCCI plays an important role in negotiation with the federal government and other agencies at national and international levels to safeguard the business enterprise community's interests.

Your body also assists the federal government in formulating policies and guidelines in the areas such as customs, banking, import, export, and tax.