Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was elected as president of the ruling Awami League for the 10th consecutive time during the council session of the party held in the auditorium of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in Dhaka on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader was elected as general secretary of the ruling party for the third consecutive time.
Fazlur Rahman Faruqe, a councillor from Tangail, proposed the prime minister's name for the post of president, which was supported by Mostafizur Rahman Fizar, a councillor from Dinajpur, reports bdnews24.com.
Obaidul Quader's name was proposed by Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, the general secretary of the party's Naogaon chapter, and backed by Maniruzzaman Tarun, general secretary of Dhaka District Awami League.
Advocate Yusuf Hossain Humayun, chairman of the Election Commission formed for conducting the party polls, declared Sheikh Hasina as the AL President and Obaidul Quader as the general secretary.
As per the constitution of the ruling party, Sheikh Hasina and Obaidul Quader will lead the party for three more years.
Earlier on the day, Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the 22nd national council of one of the sub-continent's largest political parties, Bangladesh Awami League.
She opened the council by hoisting the national flag and releasing pigeons and balloons at 10.30 am at the historic Suhrawardy Udyan, amid tight security.
After a two-hour interval, Hasina launched the second session of the conference at the Engineers Institution Auditorium shortly after 3 pm.
A total of 7,500 party councillors from all across the country gathered for the session to elect the party’s new leadership.
The council ahead of the general election is significant as the Awami League scrambles to tackle political and economic challenges by strengthening itself and garnering more popular support.
The Awami League now aims to win the election expected in January 2024 and oversee the transition of the country from a ‘Digital Bangladesh’ to a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ as envisioned by Prime Minister Hasina, who has been leading the party for over four decades.
The Awami League has held three councils since it came into power in 2009, with the last one in 2019 after winning the parliamentary polls for the third consecutive term.