The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

After long seven years, the much-awaited election of Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) will be held today (Thursday) from 10 am to 3 pm at the National Sports Council (NSC) conference room.

The election will be held only for the posts of secretary general and three executive committee members with 74 voters expected to cast their ballots.

Acting BOA secretary general Kutbuddin Ahmed, and Bangladesh Volleyball Federation president and former BOA secretary general Golam Quddus Chowdhury will vie for the hot seat of secretary general.

Four candidates -- Asaduzzaman Khasru (Barisal), Begum Lily Aziz (Chittagong), Qutubuddin Aksir (Dhaka) and Mahmud Jamal (Rajshahi) -- will compete for the posts of three executive members from the divisional quotas.

Out of the 78 councilors, four will not cast votes. The councilorship of late BOA secretary general Zafar Imam is still vacant, while at present there is no IOC representative in BOA. Another councilor in Olympian quota Abdus Sattar Nini will not cast his vote as his councilorship has been cancelled by the BOA election commission.

Another councilor and former BOA vice-president Anjan Chowdhury Pintu will not be able to cast vote as he is now abroad.

The candidates in 32 posts out of the 37 at stake have already been elected unopposed. These include president, five vice-presidents, three deputy secretaries general, one treasurer and 19 executive committee members. International Olympic Committee (IOC) will nominate the other member.

Ahead of the Thursday's election, both the secretary general candidates expressed their optimism to take the country's sports ahead if they were elected.

Talking to the reporters, Kutubuddin Ahmed said: "If I'm elected, my aim will be to take BOA ahead. I want BOA to be the players' organization where sports will be in the field all through the year."

He also said that during his tenure, he tried his utmost to assist the comparatively weak federations and cited the example of the Rowing Federation who had been given the Baridhara Lake for their sporting activities.

Golam Quddus Chowdhury said he would always work for the development of sports, "no matter who is going to win the election."

He added: "Any one, who is elected, will create a new chapter in the country's sports. If I'm elected, my main focus will be on the ensuing SAFF Games to be held in December (in Bangladesh)."