Mejbah appointed chief BFF election commissioner for fifth time

Former bureaucrat Mejbah Uddin Ahmed has been appointed as the chief election commissioner for the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) elections for the fifth consecutive time, as the BFF executive committee today approved a three-member election commission to conduct the upcoming October 26 polls.

Mejbah, a former government secretary, has also carried out the same duty in the previous four BFF elections since 2008, a period when Kazi Salahuddin was first elected as the BFF president.

Two other election commissioners of the commission are barrister AKM Ehsanur Rahman and additional secretary Suraiya Akter Jahan.

The BFF executive committee also approved a voters' list consisting of 133 delegates, who will elect one president, one senior vice president, four vice presidents, and 15 members of the 21-member BFF executive committee.

"The executive committee approved a three-member election commission to conduct the October 26 elections by naming Mejbah Uddin Ahmed as the chief election commissioner," said BFF executive member Satyjit Das Rupu after the meeting.

"He (Mejbah) carried out his duty smoothly in previous elections, so everyone has confidence in him. So, he has been appointed again as the chief election commissioner, along with barrister Ehsanur Rahman and additional secretary Suraiya Akter Jahan," Rupu informed further, adding that 10 members and four others attended the meeting physically and via video conference, respectively.

The election commission will proceed to declare the schedule of the BFF elections within a few days.

Rupu also informed that the meeting had appointed a three-member appeal committee for the 2024 elections, with Dr Mohammad Jakaria named as the head of the committee, which also consists of SM Harunur Rashid and Mihir Sarwar Morshed.

The meeting also approved renovation works and the setting up of a media centre at the BFF House under the AFC Stadium project, as well as the women's football team's participation in October's SAFF Women's Championship in Nepal and the national football team's participation in FIFA-friendly matches during the November window.