The joint panel of Sammilita Parishad and Forum led by Rubana Huq has won all the posts of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in its election for 2019-20.

Polls were held on Saturday to elect the new leadership of the trade body at BGMEA Bhaban in the capital and its Chattogram office.

Sources said 1,492 votes were cast -- 1,204 in Dhaka and 288 in Chattogram. The total number of voters were 1,955 -- 1,597 in Dhaka and 358 in Chattogram.

BGMEA board of directors has 35 posts -- 26 for Dhaka and nine for Chittagong zones. 

Sammilita Parishad-Forum panel candidates were elected uncontested in all nine posts for Chattogram.

On Saturday, election was held to the 26 posts for Dhaka zone. Sammilita Parishad-Forum panel vied for all the posts while Swadhinata Parishad panel contested 8 posts.

The winning candidates are: MA Rahim Feroz (980), Rubana Haq (966), Arshad Jamal Dipu (953), KM Rafiqul Islam (952), Inamul Haque Khan Bablu (948), Miran Ali (942), Moshiul Azam Shajal (941), Mohiuddin Rubel (922), Md Nasir Uddin (913), Md Rezwan Selim (912), Md Kamal Uddin (909), Mohammad Nasir (908), Md Sajjadur Rahman Mridha (906), Md Munir Hossain (903), AKM Badiul Alam (901), Mohammad Abdul Momen (893), Md Shahidul Haque Mukul (892), Iqbal Hamid Quraishi Adnan (886), Md Shehabudduza Chowdhury (881), Masud Quader Mona (872), Md Mosharraf Hossain Dhali (859), SM Mannan Kochi (858), Sharif Zahir (858), Nazrul Islam (834), Asif Ibrahim (812) and Faisal Samad (809).

Sammilita Parishad and Forum traditionally competes for BGMEA leadership, while Swadhinata Parishad, a new platform formed last year, started campaigning and submitted nominations for taking part in election.

Zahangir Alam, managing director of Design and Source Limited, is leading the Swadhinata Parishad panel.

Zahangir Alam alleged that two of their agents could not come as they were given threats.“We wanted to make two of our candidates agents, but the election commission did not allow it,” he added.

Huq Rubana Huq, widow of former Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) mayor Anisul Huq and managing director of Mohammadi Group, is leading Sammilita Parishad and Forum jointly.

A total of 59 apparel exporters submitted nomination papers to vie for 35 director posts. Of the 35 elected directors, a president, a first vice-president, a senior vice- president and five vice-presidents will be elected.

The candidates of Swadhinata Parishad are: Zahangir Alam, Delwar Hossain, Humayun Rashid, Rafiq Hassan, Saiful Islam, Shawkat Hossain, Khandakar Faridul Akbar, Jahangir Kabir, Zahid Hasan, Shariful Alam Chowdhury, Kazi Abdus Sobhan, Jahirul Islam, Kazi Mahzabin Momtaz, Mahmud Hossain, Hossain Sabbir Mahmud, Ayesha Akter, Md Waliullah and Omar Nazim Hakmat.

It is worth mentioning that the current board under Md Siddiqur Rahman’s leadership took over for a two-year term on September 22, 2015 through negotiations between Sammilita Parishad and Forum.

Sammilita Parishad held 19 posts of director, including that of president while Forum 16 posts.

Despite its two-year tenure, the board remained in office for more than three-and-a-half-year as the government extended its tenure thrice.

Through negotiation, the Forum was supposed to take over the leadership of BGMEA for the next term.