Bangladesh Bar Council election commence 

Voting in the election to Bangladesh Bar Council, the licensing and regulatory body for lawyers, has started.

The lawyers began casting their votes at 10:00am at 77 polling centres which it will continue till 5:00pm, the bar council’s Assistant Director Nazmul Ahsan told The Daily Star.

A total of 43,302 voters have registered their names to elect the 14-member executive body, with equal general and regional seats, among 61 contestants.

Some Supreme Court lawyers say the main contest will be between two panels -- the ruling Awami League-backed Sammilito Ainjibi Samannoy Parishad (SASP) and BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Oikya Panel (JAOP).

Former vice-chairman and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president M Amir ul Islam is leading SASP while present vice chairman and SCBA President Khandker Mahbub Hossain JAOP.

Two other contesting panels are Ainjibi Oikya Front led by Subrata Chowdhury and Ainjibi Oikya Parishad led by Md Eunus Ali Akond. Other candidates are contesting independently.