Faruque Hassan-led Sammilito Parishad won the biennial election to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association yesterday.

Faruque's panel won 24 posts of directors, while his rival ABM Shamsuddin-led Forum panel secured 11 director posts.

"I thank all my voters. I congratulate my members who voted for me. I want to unite the BGMEA to face the challenges and develop the sector," Faruque said in his immediate reaction after the announcement of the election result.

"I will address the challenges the sector has been facing from the fallouts of the Covid-19," Hassan told The Daily Star.

Around 86.56 percent or 1,996 votes have been cast in the election to the BGMEA.

Some 1,604 out of 1,852 votes were cast in Dhaka zone, while 392 out of 461 votes were cast in Chattogram region.

The voting started at 9:00am and ended at 7:00pm. It continued without any break.

The Dhaka region voters cast their votes at 14 booths set up at the Radisson Hotel in the capital. The voters in Chattogram region cast their votes at four booths set up at the BGMEA regional office in Chattogram.

Election Board Chairman Syed Ferhat Anwar announced the election results at 12:40am today at the Radisson Hotel in Dhaka.

The voters cast their votes following the health guidelines and in some cases, a few voters were seen not wearing masks.

Two panels -- Forum and Sammilito Parishad -- contested the polls. Another panel Swadhinata Parishad had announced a manifesto, but later decided not to take part in the election independently. It backed the Sammilito Parishad.

The voters elected 35 directors. A president and seven vice-presidents will be picked from the elected directors.

ABM Shamsuddin, chairman of Hannan Group, which exported about $92 million worth of garments last year and employs over 10,000 workers, is leading the Forum panel.

Faruque Hassan, managing director of Giant Group, having annual exports of more than $30 million and employing 6,000 workers, is the leader of the Sammilito Parishad.

The BGMEA election is an important event as the industry is the single largest export earning sector and employs 4.2 million workers directly. Millions of people are involved in the industry indirectly.