The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has constituted an election board and an appeal board to hold the biennial election of the trade body for the 2025-27 tenure, according to a circular from the BGMEA last Thursday.

A government-appointed administrator of the BGMEA, in the announcement, said that although no particular date has been set, the election is likely to be held before June 1 this year.

The voters of the trade body will elect 35 directors, and the elected directors will nominate their office bearers, such as the president, vice-presidents, and others, as per the platform's existing rules.

Mohammad Iqbal, former chairman of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC), has been appointed chairman of the election board.

Syed Nasim Manzur, president of the Leathergoods and Footwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association of Bangladesh and managing director of Apex Footwear Limited, has been appointed chairman of the appeal board.

The two other members of the election board are Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, and Ashraf Ahmed, former president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mahmudul Hasan, director of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), will act as secretary to the election board.

The two other members of the appeal board are Rupali Haque Chowdhury, president of the Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies and managing director of Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited, and ANM Kudrat-E-Khuda, a retired additional secretary to the government.

Abu Mukhles Alamgir Hossain, another director of the EPB, will act as the secretary to the appeal board.

The BGMEA election was held on March 9 last year, but it drew controversy over alleged tampering of the voter list and accusations that the Sheikh Hasina-led government influenced its outcome.

In the BGMEA election, two panels usually compete—the Forum and Sammilito Parishad.

Last year, all 35 director posts were won by the Sammilito Parishad panel, and the leader of the panel, SM Mannan Kochi, was elected president.

However, with the fall of the Hasina-led government in August last year, Mannan resigned from the post.

Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Designtex Knitwear Ltd and the then senior vice-president of the trade body, was made president following the resignation.

Later, the government appointed Md Anwar Hossain, vice-chairman of the EPB, as the administrator of the BGMEA.