Election Commission (EC) Secretariat Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed on Wednesday said two candidates have submitted nomination papers for the presidential election and their validity will be announced after scrutiny on August 16.

He disclosed the information at a briefing at the Election Commission Building in Agargaon in the capital.

Earlier, the nomination paper of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was submitted on behalf of the BNP to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) AMM Nasir Uddin, the Chief Election Officer for the presidential election.

On the other hand, a nomination paper was submitted on behalf of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed by the 11-party alliance.

EC Secretary Akhtar Ahmed said the deadline for submitting nomination papers for the presidential election was 4 pm today.

“Until 4 pm, we received three nomination forms. Of these, we received two nomination forms on behalf of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Chairman Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed. Besides, we received one nomination form on behalf of BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir,” he said.

He said, “At this moment, two candidates are contesting the election.”

He said, “From 10 am on August 16, we’ll scrutinise whether these nomination papers are in order. An official from the National Parliament Secretariat will come to assist us in verifying their signatures.”

“After scrutinising the nomination papers on August 16, I’ll inform you about their validity,” he said.