Published in: The Daily Star, Feb 15, 2008

Former BGMEA president Annisul Huq was declared nominated director of FBCCI yesterday as the election board of the apex trade body published the list of valid candidates to contest its upcoming election.
On the other hand, President of Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association MA Rouf Chowdhury will have to win a direct voting to become FBCCI director as he was declared a valid candidate to contest the election.
The two business leaders from the association group are widely expected to contest for the post of president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
In this 2007-09 term, the FBCCI president will be elected from the Association Group as per the FBCCI rules.
In another major development yesterday, the FBCCI Election Board received an application to reconsider the candidature of Rouf Chowdhury as he was a director of the apex trade body for the last three consecutive terms, said a source at the FBCCI.
According to FBCCI Articles of Association section 14 (V), one cannot continue as FBCCI director for the fourth consecutive term.
The source said the Election Board, however, did not discuss the issue. It would be considered at the FBCCI Appeal Board if it gets such an application.
As per the published list, 24 candidates from the association group will contest the election on March 17. From them, some 1,215 voters of the group will elect 12 directors through voting.
Around 30 nomination papers have been submitted for this group, but the Election Board declared six nomination papers invalid for various reasons, including improper signatures of seconders, loan defaulters and court restriction.
In this group, the Election Board also excluded five voters of Bangladesh Restaurant Owners’ Association from the final voter list in light with the court judgement. They are Khandaker Ruhul Amin, Selim Ahmed Hena, Sheikh Mohommed Jaynal Abadin, Alhaj Abdul Gafur (Sagir) and Alhaj Osman Gani.
In the chamber group, some 316 voters will elect 12 directors from 28 valid candidates. Nomination of one candidate in this group has been declared invalid.
The 38 elected and nominated directors — 24 elected and 14 nominated directors from the two groups — will choose their president, first vice-president and vice-president through an election to be held on March 19 at 4:00pm.
Apart from Annisul Huq of the association group, six other nominated directors of FBCCI are AKM Nurul Fazal Bulbul of Bangladesh Association of Banks, SM Shafiuzzaman of Bangladesh Aushad Shilpa Samity, Kazi Belayet Hossain of BFFEA, Abdul Matlub Ahmed of Bangladesh Insurance Association, Kamran Tanvir Rahman of BJMA and Abdul Hai Sarker of BTMA.
The nominated directors from the Chamber Group are Ebaydul Haque Chand (Barisal Chamber), Mohammed Amirul Haque (Chittagong Chamber), Aftab-Ul-Islam (DCCI), Shaharuzzaman Mortoza (Khulna Chamber), AKM Rafiqul Islam (MCCI), Md Hasen Ali (Rajshahi Chamber), and Junnun Mahmud Khan (Sylhet Chamber).
The FBCCI election had been stalled over a membership dispute of a FBCCI member-body, BGMEA, prompting the Ministry of Commerce, the regulatory authority, to extend the tenure of the Mir Nasir Hossain-led Board of Directors up to December 6, 2007.
However, they could not hold the election in the extended period due to a court order over the membership dispute.
The Nasir committee took over charge of the apex trade body on September 5, 2005 for a two-year term until September 5, 2007.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce on December 6 appointed Syed Manzur Elahi as administrator of the apex trade body with the main assignment to conduct the election in his three-month tenure.
Manzur took over charge of the federation chamber on December 8 with the assurance that he would facilitate the election as early as possible.
On the same day, the dispute over membership got settled in the court, paving the way for holding the election.
The FBCCI Election Board announced the fresh election schedule on January 13.