Mohammad Hatem-led panel, the Progressive Knit Alliance, will lead the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Bangladesh鈥檚 influential knitwear trade body, for the 2025-27 tenure, as the Alliance secured all 35 directorships聽in the biennial election of the association.
Under Progressive Knit Alliance and independent candidates, 38 candidates took part in the elections held on Saturday in Dhaka and Narayanganj for the 35-directorship position.
Election officials said that 431 BKMEA members exercised their voting rights out of 572 (75.35 per cent) eligible members in the elections. Of them, 272 were in the Narayanganj zone, 140 were in the Dhaka zone, and 57 were in the Chittagong zone.
Progressive Knit Alliance, the only contesting panel in the biennial election, won all 35 seats, while three independent candidates failed to secure any directorship positions.
Voting started at 9:00 am and continued until 5:00 pm without any break.
This year, polling took place at two centres, one in Dhaka and the other in Narayanganj. No voting centres were set up in Chattogram despite a significant number of voters residing in the area.
According to the BKMEA Election Board, voters from Chattogram cast their votes at the Dhaka or Narayanganj centres, depending on their preference.
According to the BKMEA鈥簊 existing electoral system, a president, an executive president, and seven vice presidents will be elected from the victorious directors.
Usually, the panel leader is elected as president. In line with that, Mohammad Hatem, managing director of MB Knit Fashion Ltd, is set to become the president of BKMEA for 2025-27, having also served as the president since August 25, 2024, as the then-president, AKM Salim Osman, resigned after the ousting of the Awami League regime.
According to the BKMEA鈥簊 election schedule, the office bearer election will take place on May 15. Nine office bearers will be elected for the 2025-27 tenure.
The final result of the office bearer will be published on May 17, and the new board will take over leadership for the next two years.
In a significant shift after 13 years of suspended democracy, members of the BKMEA are finally regaining their right to vote for their leadership.
No member votes have been cast since the last election in 2012, and the organisation has been effectively controlled by a single leader through seven consecutive unopposed terms.
AKM Salim Osman, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Narayanganj-5, has held the presidency of the BKMEA for over a decade without facing an electoral contest.
The last competitive election was in 2012, when Md Fazlul Haque, managing director of Narayanganj-based Plummy Fashions Ltd, ran for president.
Following that vote, Osman consolidated his position, with the board repeatedly formed by internal consensus, bypassing the general membership鈥檚 voting rights.
Even as recently as July 2023, Osman was reappointed president without an election.
However, the political landscape shifted with the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, opening the door to long-suppressed democratic processes within the BKMEA. The upcoming election marks the first time in more than a decade that the organisation鈥檚 general members will have a say in its leadership.
Industry observers view the restoration of electoral competition as a landmark moment for the BKMEA, which represents one of Bangladesh鈥檚 most critical export sectors and plays a central role in the country鈥檚 economy.
Earlier on May 7, Hatem said that they would work to diversify the market for the readymade garment sector, negotiate with the government regarding the withdrawal of the latest ban on yarn import through land ports, and take necessary steps to resolve the fuel crisis and ensure an uninterrupted and reliable gas supply.
They would also work to prevent buyers from engaging in unethical practices and resolve issues related to VAT, taxation, harassment, and other VAT-related issues.