POBNEWS24, Dhaka May 10, 2025 : After 12 long years, the election of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the country’s top knitwear garment owners’ organization, was held through formal voting. The ‘Progressive Knit Alliance’ panel led by Mohammad Hatem won the election to form the board of directors for the 2025-2027 term. All 35 candidates nominated by this panel were elected.
Voting was held simultaneously from 9 am to 5 pm on Saturday (May 10) at Banglamotor in Dhaka and Chashara BKMEA Bhaban in Narayanganj. Out of a total of 572 voters, 431 voted, which is 75.34 percent of the attendance. Out of these, 408 votes were considered valid. The number of valid votes in Dhaka was 219 and in Narayanganj 189.
38 candidates contested for 35 director posts in the election. Out of these, 35 were from Progressive Knit Alliance. The remaining three contested as independent candidates. They are former BGMEA director Rajib Chowdhury, MD of Zahin Knitwear Md. Jamal Uddin Mia and MD of JS Style BD Limited Md. Nazrul Islam.
After the absolute victory in the election, President Mohammad Hatem said, “I have always been in favor of elections. I am grateful for the spontaneous participation of the voters and their trust in us. The attendance was somewhat low due to the movement in Dhaka, but overall we are satisfied.”
From the 35 elected directors, the president, executive president, senior vice president, six vice presidents and 9 directors will be elected later.
It is worth noting that the president of the committee formed in 2021 was AKM Selim Osman, who had exerted political influence for 14 years. Mohammad Hatem took over as acting president after his resignation on August 5 last year. Several elected directors of the organization have indicated that he could become the president of the next committee after the panel’s victory in the election.
