"Without fear or favour" — that's the promise from Bangladesh's new head of state, as veteran BNP leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir takes the top job after a truly historic vote.

Well, it finally happened.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir was sworn in as Bangladesh's 23rd President on Friday evening, just a day after winning the country's first contested presidential election since 1991, as reported by cbinews.tv.

And it was all very official. The 78-year-old took his oath at the Durbar Hall of Bangabhaban at 7:37 pm, with Jatiya Sangsad Speaker Kayser Kamal administering the oath.

This wasn't your usual rubber-stamp job. For context, Bangladesh's president is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by MPs, not the public. Since 1991, every single presidential election has been unopposed — the ruling party simply nominates, and that’s that.

This time was different.

The election was held on 20 August 2026 after the early resignation of the 22nd president, Mohammed Shahabuddin, citing health reasons. It pitted the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party's candidate against Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party and nominee of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.

The numbers tell the story:

The BNP stalwart and former party secretary general — who also serves as secretary-general and local government minister — secured 255 votes, while his rival managed 88 votes. Of 349 registered voters in parliament, 343 cast their ballots, giving Alamgir almost three-fourths of the vote.

It’s a remarkable turn for a man who spent years as the BNP's long-time opposition figure, now becoming head of state after his party returned to power in a major political transition.

In short: 35 years of walkovers, then a proper contest. And Alamgir's message as he took office? He'll serve "without fear or favour".

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