Rubana likely to be next BGMEA president
Rubana Huq - Entrepreneur, Author, Columnist, Speaker
Forum leader Rubana will become president of the BGMEA for the next two years, by consensus.
Rubana Huq, Managing Director of Mohammadi Group, is going to be the first female president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), a owners’ platform of the country’s $30 billion apparel industry.
The BGMEA Biennial Election for 2019-22 is slated for April 6, where the Sammilita Parishad and Forum nominated Rubana as the head of its panel in line with the negotiation.
As per the negotiation, Sammilita Parishad and Forum reached a consensus to float a joint panel representing both the groups to constitute the BGMEA board of directors for the next two years.
Forum leader Rubana will become president of the BGMEA for the next two years, by consensus.
The tenure of incumbent BGMEA President Md Siddiqur Rahman, who represents Parishad, will expire after the elections are held.
As part of the negotiation, aspirants from two platforms have submitted nominations under a joint panel, where Rubana Huq, widow of Annisul Huq, former Dhaka North City Corporation mayor, is panel leader.
“In line with the previous consensus, we have submitted nomination papers under Sammilita Parishad and Forum panels, where Rubana Haq is the panel leader,” former BGMEA president Anwar-ul Alam Chowdhury Parvez told the Dhaka Tribune.
“If there is another panel, there will be an election. Otherwise, Rubana Haq will be the president for the next two years,” said Parvez.
“Since Sammilita Parishad and Forum are well known and have been leading the BGMEA for the last few years, I think there is no scope for a third panel to lead the trade association,” another former president, seeking anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune.
“If any third party, other than Forum and Parishad, seeks election, they won’t be able to claim victory as they are not connected to voters. In that case, I can say Rubana Haq would be the next first female president of the BGMEA,” he added.
Traditionally, Sammilita Parishad and Forum are the two platforms that contest for the polls, but this year, Shadhinata Parishad, a newly formed platform, also submitted an election nomination.
A total of 59 apparel makers have submitted nomination papers to contest 35 director posts in the biennial election (for the tenure of 2019-21) of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
A total of 23 people placed nominations from Forum, of which 18 are from Dhaka zone and five from Chittagong zone. 17 submitted nominations under Sammilita Parishad, of which 12 are from Dhaka, and five from Chittagong.
Meanwhile, a total of 18 people submitted nominations from the Shadhinata Parishad platform.