Bangladeshi lawmakers have elected Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, a candidate of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), as the country’s 23rd president.

The former secretary-general of the BNP secured 255 parliamentary votes in the presidential election, while Oli Ahmed, a former army colonel from the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami-led alliance, received 88 votes.

The president is the constitutional head of state but the position is largely ceremonial.

The polling was held on Thursday evening, with all of the country’s 349 lawmakers casting their votes.

This was the first presidential election in 35 years to feature more than one candidate. In previous elections, the political opposition never contested the ruling party.

Awami League, the party of ousted President Sheikh Hasina, was banned by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus and could not take part in the election.

The election was necessitated by the resignation last month of Mohammed Shahabuddin, citing health issues, ahead of the official end of his tenure in April 2028.

A Reuters report quoting sources said that Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s government had pressed Shahabuddin to step aside because of his long-standing ties to Hasina, who is now in India.

Alamgir will be sworn in on Friday evening.