DHAKA, May 10, 2025 (BSS) - Progressive Knit Alliance, a panel led by Mohammad Hatem, won all the 35 directorial posts at the biennial election of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) held today.

In the election, three independent candidates namely G. M. Haider Ali, Md. Shajahan Alam and Md. Monir Hosain Sheikh could not win any post, according to the result sheet of the election.

Hatem as the panel leader is poised to be the president of the BKMEA new executive committee.

The voting ended at 5 pm where 75.35 percent or 431 out of total 572 votes were casted.

As per the election schedule the elected directors will nominate the new president on May 15 while the BKMEA will officially declare the office bearers on May 17, said Syed Wahiduzzaman, secretary to the BKMEA Election Board.

Earlier, the voting started at 9 am and continued till 5 pm without any break.

This year, polling took place at two centres, one in Dhaka and the other in Narayanganj. However, no voting centre was set up in Chattogram despite a significant number of voters residing in the area.

A total of 38 candidates contested in this year's election, of whom 35 will be elected as directors for a two-year term.

From among the elected directors, one president and seven vice presidents will be nominated for the tenure. There are 572 eligible voters across the country.

Of them, 272 are from Narayanganj, 224 from Dhaka, and 76 from Chattogram. The voting was conducted manually.

The election commission did not set up a separate polling centre in Chattogram, citing the relatively low number of voters in the area.

However, the commission allowed Chattogram-based voters the flexibility to vote at either of the other two centres. Only one panel fielded candidates for all 35 directorial positions, while three other individuals contested independently.

The election commission also shifted the Dhaka polling centre to the BKMEA's Dhaka office at Planners Tower from the originally planned Shaheed Abu Sayed International Convention Centre.