India, Aug. 20 -- Bangladesh lawmakers on Thursday began voting to elect the country's 23rd president, with ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) candidate Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir facing Colonel (retd) Oli Ahmed in the first contested presidential election in the country in 35 years.

Polling is being held at the Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) through an open ballot and will continue until 5 pm local time. As many as 349 lawmakers are eligible to vote.

Alamgir, 78, is contesting against Oli Ahmed, 84, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the candidate of the Jamaat-e-Islami-led 11-party opposition alliance.

The Election Commission will announce the result after the votes are counted and publish it in the official gaze...