Film Artistes’ Association election date reinstated to April 19

The election of the Bangladesh Film Artistes' Association (BFAA) has consistently been a contentious affair, marked by disputes, rumours, speculations, and diplomatic power games among competing panels. This year's 2024-26 electoral session is no exception.

After much anticipation, the date of the Bangladesh Film Artistes Association (BFAA) election has been announced. According to the Chief Election Commissioner Khorshed Alam Khosru of BFAA, the election will take place on April 19.

"One of the contending panellists, Misha Sawdagor has written to us to keep the election date on April 19. After thorough consideration, we decided to hold the election on that pre-scheduled date," Khosru said.

The Election Commissioner informed The Daily Star that the election date was rescheduled to April 27 from April 19. However, after evaluating Misha Sawdagor's application, they decided to go with the previous election date.

The final voters' list for the election will be released on Thursday (March 28) at 5:00pm. The Bangladesh Film Artistes Association will kick off the sale of nomination forms for the upcoming elections on March 30, which will run until 4:00pm on March 31. 

Nomination submissions will be accepted until 4:00pm on April 2. The preliminary list of candidates is scheduled to be published on April 3, followed by the final list on April 7.

Misha Swadagor and Monowar Hossain Dipjol's panel will compete with Nipun Akter and Mahmud Koli as the two most anticipated panels of the 2024-26 term election.

Recent events, including the cancellation of popular actor Zayed Khan's membership, former president Ilias Kanchan's emotional farewell, and ongoing speculations regarding former general secretary Nipun Akter's co-panellist, date of the election, have further fueled the anticipation surrounding the upcoming election.