Dhaka Bureau: Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury is likely to become the country’s first woman president. Top Awami League sources told Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) that the ruling party has decided to field Shirin Sharmin despite the names of senior party leaders like Matia Chowdhury and Amir Hossain Amu.
The party’s general secretary and bridge minister Obaidul Quader has been rejected by the majority of the presidium and the central executive committee as a possible candidate. Because, Kader has recovered from physical ailments and is seen as a tough old organizer of Awami League.
A senior leader said who will run the party in an election year, when the going gets tough. Quader’s successor, joint general secretary and information minister Hasan Mahmud, is seen by many as less suitable as a party organizer and more suitable as a potential forest-environment minister with additional responsibilities for science and technology.
Writer Sukhranjan Dasgupta said Hasan has a PhD in environmental science. He may have to plan government action to address the effects of climate change. Climate change is a major problem in Bangladesh.
If Shireen Sharmin Chowdhury eventually becomes president, it will be a milestone for Muslim-majority Bangladesh. She will not only be the first female president, but also possibly the world’s youngest president.
Sheikh Hasina is already the country’s longest-serving Prime Minister, having been in power for more than a decade. It will probably be the first country in the world where both the President and the Prime Minister are women.
Although the name of Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury has not yet been revealed in the party forum of Awami League, a high-level source of the ruling party has confirmed that the name of Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury is coming considering her personality, acceptability and performance as a speaker. He will be nominated as the next president.
