The Election Commission (EC) has officially declared BNP leader Engineer Ishraque Hossain as the new mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) through a formal gazette notification. The announcement was made on Sunday night, April 27, according to EC sources.
Earlier, on April 22, the EC had sought the opinion of the Ministry of Law on whether a gazette could be issued declaring Ishraque the mayor based on a court verdict. Upon receiving a positive response, Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal held a meeting with other commissioners and officials and decided to issue the gazette that very night.
Ishraque Hossain had contested the DSCC elections held on February 1, 2020, as a BNP candidate. Although initially declared defeated, he filed a case challenging the election results, citing widespread irregularities and corruption. On March 27 this year, Judge Md. Nurul Islam of the Dhaka First Joint District Court ruled in favor of Ishraque, voiding the previous election result and declaring him the rightful winner. As part of the ruling, the court removed Awami League candidate and then-mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh from the position and canceled the earlier government gazette that confirmed his appointment.
The legal case named eight defendants, including former Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda, Returning Officer Md. Abdul Baten, and former Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.
Ishraque’s lawyer, Rafiqul Islam, stated, “We proved in court that the election was marred by irregularities. The court accepted our claims and declared Ishraque Hossain as the legitimate mayor.”
It is worth noting that in the 2020 city elections, Atiqul Islam was elected mayor in Dhaka North and Taposh in Dhaka South. Both assumed office shortly after the election. However, following a change in government, their mayoral positions were revoked.
