The election for the posts of directors of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) scheduled for March 9 was thrown into further uncertainty yesterday when the remaining three candidates pulled out of the race.
The contenders who withdrew their nominations are: MA Mumin, chairman of Surma Securities Holding Company, Lutfur Rahman Badal, managing director of Latif Securities, and Dastagir Md Adil, managing director of Adil Securities.
An uncertainty also looms on the annual general meeting (AGM) of DSE following the withdrawal of nominations by all the nine candidates.
Earlier on Wednesday, six candidates departed the polls race. They are Anwar Hossain, managing director of Anwar Securities, Mujibur Rahman, managing director of Prudential Securities, Khondker Asadul Islam, chief executive officer of IDLC Securities, Azizur Rahman, managing director of Globe Securities, Feroz Khan, managing director of Eminent Securities, and Rafiqul Islam, managing director of Parkway Securities.
As per the DSE constitution, the election has to be held every year before holding the AGM. There are 12 elected and 12 nominated directors in the board of directors.
According to sources, the DSE management will consult with lawyers about the issue, as the bourse constitution lacks any specific guideline to face such situation of having no candidates for the post of four directors.
Dastagir Adil, when contacted over telephone, said there was no specific reason behind his withdrawal.
Lutfur Rahman Badal, however, said the election had become controversial following the six candidates' withdrawal of nominations that prompted him to withdraw his candidature.
“A vested group, who always wants to grab the management power in their hands and abuse the power for their own benefits, is responsible for spoiling the election,” he said, demanding a free and fair election later.
Responding to queries on allegation of his influence to grab the top post of the bourse, he said: “If I really wanted to influence, why would I withdraw my candidature?”
“And I withdraw my nomination to dispel such wrong notions,” he added.
According to the DSE constitution, four elected directors retire every year and four others replace them through direct voting. The 12 elected directors include the new four, one president, one senior vice-president and one vice-president for the next one year.