In accordance with Section 17 of the Trade Organisation Act 2022, the Bangladesh government dissolved the restructured board of the BGMEA and appointed Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) vice-chairman Md Anwar Hossain as the administrator.

Neither the BGMEA nor the Export Promotion Bureau had responded to Just Style's request for comment at the time of going to press, however local media reports suggest the government issued a circular on 20 October.

It stated that Hossain will hold a "free and fair" election within 120 days after which responsibilities will be transferred to the newly-elected body.

BGMEA's recent changes

S.M. Mannan (Kochi) resigned from his role as BGMEA president in August citing long-term medical treatment. His resignation coincided with the prime minister leaving the country and a new interim government being formed.

Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, who previously served as senior vice president at the BGMEA, was unanimously voted in as the new president, however there were concerns surrounding the election process at the time.

Local news publication Dhaka Tribune claims the restructured board representatives "failed" to satisfactorily answer complaints raised by general members.

It read: "The board's lack of coordination makes it evident that, under Section 17(1) of the Trade Organization Act 2022, the organisation’s overall operations are not being conducted in the best interests of business, industry, trade, and services."

Plea for BGMEA board dissolution

Last month (September) some BGMEA members called for the dissolution of the association's current board on alleged vote rigging and poor leadership amid political unrest and flooding.

At the time local news publication The Business Standard claimed there were “700 fake voters in the last election and BGMEA member Bhuiyan called for the immediate resignation of the board and the establishment of a non-political interim committee to oversee a fresh election with an accurate voter list.

The calls for a board dissolution are said to stem from members alleging the BGMEA failed to “provide proper directives to its members who faced difficulties operating during the movement, especially after the turmoil stemming from the government change and the prevailing flood situation".

BGMEA accused of "power-mongering"

Bangladesh local media publication Bangladesh Daily (Pratidin) has accused the BGMEA of becoming a factory of power for ministers, MPs, mayors and party posts.

It alleged the BGMEA "has failed miserably to protect the interests of general garment industry owners".

A former BGMEA president allegedly told Bangladesh Daily (Pratidin) the BGMEA has had a bad name for being a power factory for a long time.

While another former BGMEA senior vice president told the publication: "Using any business organisation for political ideas or purposes is not worthy of support. Politics and business cannot go together. Business interests are not saved for politics in BGMEA. Over the past decade BGMEA has been used to serve personal interests. Many have become political leaders using BGMEA. Many have become ministers, MPs, mayors. Many have even taken up political positions by virtue of being BGMEA leaders. This situation has reflected the negative image of BGMEA to the society."

In early August, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as Bangladesh’s interim leader following recent protests that resulted in 300 deaths, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign.

Bangladesh’s garment industry has reportedly lost around $400m in production due to the labour unrest that took place in September and early October, however an industry expert argues the overall impact was "relatively minimal”.