The third election to television artistes’ organisation – Actors Equity – began in the morning on Friday to elect an executive body for the term between 2022 and 2025.
The voting began at 9:30am and will continue until 5:30pm with a break from 1:00pm to 2:00pm in the National Music, Dance and Recitation Centre of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka.
Veteran actor Khairul Alam Shabuj is the chief election commissioner, while Masum Aziz and Naresh Bhuiyan are the election commissioners.
The executive body of Actors Equity consists of 21 posts, where 48 candidates are contesting for the posts and 752 voters are scheduled to cast their votes.
Two candidates – Ahsan Habib Nasim and Sahadat Hossain Nipu – are contesting for the post of the president while five candidates - Anisur Rahman Milon, Iqbal Babu, Tania Ahmed, Dilu Majumdar and Selim Mahbub – are contesting for the three posts of vice-president.
'This is our third election and it has begun in a festive mood. No candidates will be defeated in the election but 21 members will get the responsibility to run the organisation,' Ahsan Habib Nasim told.
'I will work for the television artistes to ensure a favourable environment for them in the industry,' said Sahadat Hossain Nipu.
Two candidates Alamgir Kabir Tutul and MM Kamrul Hasan Rawnak are contesting for general secretary post.
The three candidates for two joint general secretary posts are Naznin Hasan Chumki, Md Jamil Hossain and Shamima Islam Tusti.
Three candidates Gias Uddin Tushar, Julfikar Uddin Khan Chanchal and Shazu Khadem are contesting for the post of organizing secretary while two candidates Dewan Md Saiful Islam and Mohammad Noor A Alam for finance secretary post and two candidates Mamun-or-Rashid and Sheik Merazul Islam for office secretary post.
The two candidates for event secretary post are Md Mahabubur Rahaman Molla and Rashed Mamunur Rahman, the two candidates for law and welfare secretary post are Urmila Srabanti Kar and Rawnok Bishaka Shamoli, the two candidates for publicity and publication secretary post are Pran Roy and Mukul Siraj and the three candidates for information and technology secretary post are Abul Kalam Azad, Mahadi Hasan Pial and Sujat Shimul.
Twenty candidates – Aynun Putul, Abul Kalam Azad Miah, Ashraf Kabir, Ashraful Alam Khan, AAM Golam Kibria, Khaled Ahmed Saleheen, Tanvir Mashud, Nurun Nahar Begum, Maznun Mizan, Misti Maria, Md Abdul Hannan Akhand, Md Aminul Bari, Mousumi Hamid, Rezaul Karim Sarker, Shams Sumon, Shyamol Zakaria, Soron Kumar Saha, Sangeeta Chowdhury, Suchona Sikdar and Hafizur Rahman – are contesting for the seven posts of executive member.
Actors Equity, established in 1998 with an ad-hoc committee, held the first election in 2017. The organisation was registered under the social welfare ministry in 2018 and the second election was held in 2019.
Popular actors Shahiduzzaman Selim and Ahsan Habib Nasim were elected the president and general secretary respectively of Actors Equity in 2019.
