Mirza Fakhrul wins Bangladesh presidency with 255 votes. Oli Ahmad receives 88.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was elected Bangladesh’s 23rd president Thursday, winning 255 votes in the country’s first contested presidential election since 1991.

His rival, retired Col. Oli Ahmad, nominated by the Jamaat-led 11-party alliance, received 88 votes.

A total of 343 lawmakers cast ballots, all of which were declared valid. Six of the 349 members of Parliament eligible to vote did not participate.

Voting ran from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban. Chief election commissioner A.M.M. Nasir Uddin declared Fakhrul the winner after ballots were counted.

Fakhrul’s victory was widely expected because the Bangladesh Nationalist Party holds a clear parliamentary majority, but voting was required because two candidates remained in the race.

Hours before the vote, Fakhrul outlined his aspirations for the presidency.

“I want to see the Bangladesh that I expect and have long dreamed of – a happy, prosperous and welfare-oriented state,” he said.

Fakhrul also called for greater economic security for marginalized people, laborers, and low-income groups, along with more employment opportunities for young people and greater opportunities for women to become self-reliant.

Acting president Hafiz Uddin Ahmad left Bangabhaban earlier Thursday after serving for 26 days following the resignation of Mohammed Shahabuddin on July 24.