Article 70 of the Constitution will apply to the upcoming presidential election on August 20, Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni said on Tuesday, warning that any lawmaker who votes against their party’s line will lose their seat.

Moni was speaking to reporters at the National Parliament Bhaban following a meeting between parliamentary representatives of the ruling and opposition parties and officials of the Election Commission and Parliament Secretariat on preparations for the vote, according to a BSS report.

Following the submission and scrutiny of nomination papers, candidates will have until the night of August 18 to withdraw. “The ruling party’s presidential candidate has not yet been finalised,” Moni said. “The prime minister will nominate the candidate, and the name will be announced on the day of submission of the nomination paper.”

The meeting included detailed discussions aimed at delivering a free, fair and transparent election. Moni said voting will take place from 2 pm to 5 pm on August 20 at the parliament building, where lawmakers will vote according to their seat and division numbers.

The media will be permitted to broadcast the voting live. “The ballot counting and preparation of the election result after voting would also be allowed to be broadcast live until the declaration of the result,” Moni added.

There are 349 voters in Parliament. Should balloting conclude ahead of schedule, officials will count the votes and declare the result promptly; if voting remains incomplete, the authorities will wait until 5 pm and announce the result thereafter.

The chief election commissioner will serve as returning officer, backed by Election Commission officials and secretarial support from the Parliament Secretariat.

Asked whether Article 70 of the Constitution would remain effective during the presidential election, Moni said: “As Article 70 of the Constitution has not been amended, it will remain effective.”

Asked whether MPs could back an alternative candidate, he confirmed that anyone voting against their party’s decision would forfeit their parliamentary seat.

Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam announced that an 11-party alliance had chosen retired Colonel Oli Ahmad, Bir Bikram, as its candidate. Islam noted that Bangladesh had not seen a competitive presidential election in nearly 35 years and said the alliance had fielded a candidate in the interest of democracy and to ensure a participatory election.

“The opposition didn’t want the election to be held uncontested,” he said. “That’s why we have nominated a candidate.”

He added that Tuesday’s meeting also covered measures to ensure a fair election.

Addressing the broader reform agenda, Moni later said there was consensus on four areas concerning Article 70 in the July Charter, one of which is the presidential election. “Even if the July Charter is implemented, Article 70 will remain effective in the presidential election,” he said.

The chief whip said the government was working to ensure a transparent electoral process with the aim of continuing the democratic process and institutionalising democracy.

“We want to create such a process so that the people of the country become confident in elections in the future and feel satisfied by electing candidates of their choice,” he said.

On the formation of a Constitution Reform Council, Moni said there was no need to form such a council, arguing that reforms would proceed through constitutional amendments as in other democracies.

Citing India as an example, the chief whip noted its 1950 constitution had been amended 106 times up to 2024. “Changes have been made through amendments each time; a new constitution wasn’t written and no Constitution Amendment Council was formed,” he said.

“We will implement every letter, full stop, comma and semicolon of the July Charter exactly as it is,” Moni said. “We all signed the Charter together, and implementing it is our commitment.”

He said a new bill to implement the Charter would be introduced during the next parliamentary session, adding that the government would take all necessary measures to maintain the democratic process and institutionalise democracy.