The country's garment manufacturers go to polls today to elect their new leader for the 2009-10 term.
The election of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) pits two leading garment entrepreneurs, Shahadat Hossain Kiron of Dekko group and Abdus Salam Murshedy of Envoy group, vying for the post of president for next two years.
The garment manufacturers will cast their votes between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm without any break, BGMEA election board said.
The vote will be conducted under electronic system.
Leading separate panels, the Forum and the Sammilita Parishad, will go to polls in which 2678 manufacturers will cast their votes.
Garment manufacturers will elect 27 directors and later the directors will elect one president and four vice presidents.
The election comes at a time when global garment trade is witnessing a double-digit decline due to the worst world financial crisis in decades, with analysts forcasting gloomy days ahead for the local manufacturers.
Salam Murshedy, panel leader of Sammilita Parishad, said his top priority will be to enhance the image of the country and the garment sector in particular if he is elected president of the trade body.
Murshedy said he would also take steps to build a congenial owner-worker relationship in an effort to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in the industry.
Shahadat Hossain Kiran, panel leader of Forum, said he would draw a set of strategies to double garment export from Bangladesh in less than five years' time.
"If we can adopt path-breaking strategies, we can even glean maximum benefits from this global economic recession. My plan would be to take apparel export to US$ 25 billion by 2013," Kiron said.
In the 2007-08 fiscal year, Bangladesh exported apparel worth US$ 10.7 billion, which accounted for some 76 per cent of the country's total shipments.
Candidates from the two panels are also vying for 27 posts of directors. Some 556 manufacturers from the port city of Chittagong will also cast their votes.
Seven directors out of 27 directors will be elected from Chittagong zone.
