Dhaka - Bangladesh's election authorities will organize an election for a new president in February, newspapers reported Tuesday, quoting a top election commission official.

"We will be able to arrange the presidential elections in February after holding local government elections later this month," election commission chief ATM Shamsul Huda told reporters after calling on outgoing President Iajuddin Ahmed.

The five-year tenure of Iajuddin, who was elected in September 2002, expired in 2007, but the election process stalled due to the absence of an elected parliament, which votes for the republic's president, whose role is largely ceremonial.

The new parliament was formed after the December 29 general elections, ending two years' rule of a military backed government led by Fakhruddin Ahmed.

The ruling Awami League-led alliance of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed has named Zillur Rahman, a senior party leader, as their candidate for the presidency.

He will need to secure a majority vote from parliament's 300-member electoral college.

The ruling alliance got 262 out of 300 parliamentary seats in the polls, which were credited as fair and credible by national and international election observers. (dpa)