2023 Imruland President Election

2023 Imruland President Election

10 June 2023
Opinion polls
Registered	45
Turnout	95.56%
Candidate Safat Zareef Hassan MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim Popular vote 24 19 Percentage 55.81% 44.19%
President before election Showib Ahmmed Prime Minister after election Safat Zareef Hassan

A presidential election of the Republic Kingdom of Imruland was held on 10 June 2023. This was the second and last presidential election in the country. The schedule of the election was announced on 27 May 2023 by President Showib Ahmmed. Information and Education Minister Safat Zareef Hassan defeated Health Minister MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim by 5 votes.

Background

The term of President Fokhrul Sazzad ended on 24 May 2023. Governor Showib Ahmmed was appointed as President according to the Constitution of Imruland to arrange the 2nd Imruland President Election. There were no political parties in Imruland. No one was allowed to participate in the election from a political party. All had to contest as independent candidates.

Schedule

The schedule of the election was announced by President Showib Ahmmed on 27 May 2023 during the 8th session of the Parliament of Imruland. He announced to hold elections on June 10, 2023. Last date for submission of nomination of candidates was 29 May. Scrutiny of nominations took place at 11 AM on 30 May. Last date for withdrawal of candidature was 30th May 2023 at 11 PM. The election campaign period was from 30th May to 10th June at 12 midnight.

Candidates

A total of 6 candidates submitted nominations but only 2 survived in the end. Parliament member Ismam Muntasir and Speaker Muzahidul Islam withdrew their candidature on 30 May 2023. The nomination of Siam Mridha was declared invalid after scrutiny. The most influenced candidate Jibon Mahmood's candidature was canceled by the Imruland Election Commission due to violation of election code of conduct and serious allegations were proved.

List of candidates of the 2023 Imruland President Election

No.	Name of candidate	Portrait	Political office	Registration Date
1	Safat Zareef Hassan		Incumbent Minister of Information & Broadcasting (2023 - present) Incumbent Minister of Culture & Education (2023 - present)	27 May 2023
2	MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim	Portrait is not available	Incumbent Minister of Health (2023 - present)	29 May 2023

Campaigning

There was equal opportunity for every candidates for campaigning. The government arranged a special debate named Who's The Next Leader. Any voter could ask any question to any candidate. The debate was live telecast on the state-owned Imruland Television (ITV). Also, the candidates were able to address the nation in a recorded speech on the Imruland Television. Information and Education Minister Safat Zareef Hassan address the nation on 2 June 2023. Foreign Minister Ishtiak Mahfuz Abdullah addressed on 5 June and Health Minister MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim on 8 June. Besides, the candidates also campaigned in their own arrangements as per their wish.

Opinion polls

The government arranged an opinion poll on 8 June 2023. MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim was ranked first.

Percentage

Poll source	Portrait is not available			Invalid ballots
	Fahim	Zareef	Ishtiak
Result	50.00%	42.31%	7.69%	0.00%

Security

The government took necessary security measures to ensure the free, fair and peaceful conduct of the elections. Campaigning of all the candidates had been completed without a hitch. No untoward incidents were reported anywhere. Ballot boxes had been sent through tight security to all polling centres. 9 platoons of the Border Guard of Imruland (BGI) and the Imruland Armed Force had been deployed in each centre. Besides, a large amount of police had also been deployed. Imruland Intelligence Agency (IIA) personnel had stepped up their patrols in plain clothes. Speaker Muzahidul Islam's Dekchi Force also patrolled jointly with the government forces as a private force during polling. The election ended in a completely smooth manner. No vote rigging was reported anywhere during the election.

Results

The final results of the elections were announced by President Showib Ahmmed at 7.45pm on 10 June.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Safat Zareef Hassan	Independent	24	55.81
	MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim	Independent	19	44.19
Total			43	100.00
Valid votes			43	100.00
Invalid/blank votes			0	0.00
Total votes			43	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			45	95.56

Aftermath

Main article: 2023 Imruland political crisis

President Showib Ahmmed called the election fully free and fair. Both the winning and losing candidates welcomed the result at first. Losing candidate MD Nazmul Hasan Fahim congratulated Safat Zareef Hassan to win the election. But after a while he accused the government of mass rigging. The supporters of Nazmul Hasan Fahim boycotted the result. They protested under the leadership of former President Fokhrul Sazzad demanding cancellation of results and publication of correct results. At one stage of the protest, they attacked the Parliament of Imruland. They also threatened to attack President Ahmmed, Speaker Tanha, and President-elect Zareef. However, the attack was thwarted by the Imurland Secret Service. President Showib Ahmmed called the protestors secessionist and rebel. He ordered to exile all supporters of Fahim and Sazzad. President Ahmmed declared state of emergency for an indefinite period on 11 June 2023. It resulted the 2023 Imruland political crisis. The constitution was amended for third time during this emergency period and the posts of president and vice president were cancelled and a new type of government headed by the prime minister was introduced. Besides, the election system was also cancelled and appointment system of prime minister by the Constitution Drafting Committee was installed by amending the constitution on 15 July 2023. Safat Zareef Hassan, winner of the election, was appointed as the prime minister on 28 July 2023. He completed his full term as prime minister.

See also

• President of Imruland
• Prime Minister of Imruland