Zillur elected president, oath Thursday ....................

The Election Commission declared Zillur Rahman as president-elect on Wednesday.

After resigning as an MP later in the day, Zillur is scheduled to take oath to the presidential office at the Darbar Hall of Bangabhaban at 7pm on Thursday.

Chief election commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda declared the 79-year-old veteran Awami League leader elected unopposed at 4:01pm at the EC Secretariat as no other nominees were put forward for the presidential election.

The ruling party nominated Zillur, deputy leader of the house, for the titular head of state soon after assuming power in January.

President-elect Zillur expressed his desire to work for the welfare of his countrymen, speaking on the eve of his oath taking.

"I will work for the people neutrally, even though I will be away from active politics," the veteran Awami League leader told us ton Wednesday at his Ivy Tower residence in Gulshan.

The building was besieged by people from all walks along with party men congratulating Zillur will be the country's 19th president.

Zillur, responding to their greetings and replying to a query, said: "I will do everything possible within my limited capability to safeguard democracy and people's welfare.

"You know well that the president enjoys limited power. I will do my job as best I can within those limits."

Known as a close companion of Awami League founder and independence architect Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, fondly referred to as Bangabandhu, Zillur said: "Bangabandhu always worked for people in changing their fate."

"The country became independent under his leadership and we have got the acknowledgment as a nation on the world map."

"The people have given us the scope to form government by giving our party overwhelming support. The new government under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, has been working from the very first day to this end."

Zillur determined to maintain neutrality in the presidential post.

"I will work neutrally as a president and make no discrimination between the ruling and opposition parties.|

"All of us will have to work together to build a 'Golden Bangladesh' keeping aside all differences of views."

Zillur said many problems were facing the nation. "The problems have increased in the past two years."

"We have to alleviate poverty and create employment. Everybody should work together to take the country forward," he said.

The veteran politician was born on March 9, 1929 at Bhairab in Kishoreganj and took to politics in his student days.

Zillur was elected lawmaker in the ninth parliamentary elections, and past elections of 1973, 1986, 1996 and 2001, from his Kishoreganj (Kuliarchar-Bhairab) constituency.

He was also elected to the provincial council (Pradeshik Parishad) in the 1970 election.

Awami League president Sheikh Hasina made Zillur acting party chief after she was arrested in 2007 during the regime of the military-installed caretaker government amid the state of emergency.

AL chief whip Abdus Shahid told us that Zillur would submit his resignation as an MP to speaker Abdul Hamid later Wednesday following publication of the gazette on his election as president.

"According to rules of procedure, the letter must be written by hand," Shahid said.

Outgoing president Iajuddin Ahmed received a joint guard of honour from the three armed forces at Sena Kunja, and laid wreaths before the 'eternal flame', in Dhaka Cantonment earlier in the day.

He later took leave of Bangabhaban, attending a farewell party thrown by his staff.

Iajuddin took oath as the 18th president of the republic on Sept 6, 2002, after AQM Badruddozza Chowdhury resigned from the office on June 21, 2002. Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar was acting president from June 21 to September 5, 2002.