Who will lead BGMEA next? Election set for Saturday

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) will go to the polls on Saturday, more than seven months after its board was dissolved during political upheaval.

Voting will take place from 8am to 5pm at two centres -- Radisson Blu Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka and Radisson Blu Hotel Chattogram Bay View.

The election will decide the leadership of the organisation for the 2025-27 term.

A total of 76 candidates from three panels are contesting 35 director seats.

While the Forum and Sammilito Parishad panel have nominated candidates for all posts, the Oikka Parishad panel has put forward candidates for six positions.

After the vote, the elected directors will choose the organisation’s president, vice-presidents and other office bearers.

The three panels have promised to protect members’ interests, demand a separate ministry for the garment sector, support small entrepreneurs, safeguard workers’ and owners’ rights, implement several development plans for the garment industry, address the impact of climate change and resolve gas and electricity issues.

Sammilito Parishad, led by Abul Kalam, has made a 12-point pledge in its manifesto.

Forum, under the leadership of Mahmud Hasan Khan, has presented a 14-point manifesto. Meanwhile, the Oikko Parishad panel, headed by Mohammad Mohsin, has pledged 16 points.

Calls to dissolve the BGMEA board surfaced after the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5, 2024.

The board was formally dissolved on Oct 20, when the interim government appointed Anwar Hossain, vice chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), as BGMEA’s administrator.

Though elections were to be held within 120 days of his appointment, delays occurred due to updating the voter list and unrest among garment workers.

More than four months after the deadline, BGMEA elections are now set to take place.

This year’s voter count has dropped due to a policy limiting eligibility to only active factory owners.

While the earlier election saw 2,496 voters, the current list includes 1,865 -- with 1,561 in Dhaka and 303 in Chattogram.