Ishraque did not seek declaration as mayor in initial case statement
The Election Tribunal in Dhaka on Thursday declared Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation.
Judge Md Nurul Islam of the Election Tribunal pronounced the verdict cancelling the Election Commission gazette that was issued announcing Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh as winner in the mayoral election.
The verdict regarding the DSCC mayoral election has touched off debates with politicians arguing that the controversial election held under the ousted Awami League regime should not be legitimised through a court ruling.
Ishraque contested the polls held on February 1, 2020 for the post of mayor from the BNP, but he was declared defeated, and the EC declared Taposh as mayor of the DSCC.
Later, on March 3, 2020, Ishraque filed a case demanding cancellation of the results of the city polls under section 53 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Election Rules鈥�2010.
He also demanded a re-election, alleging irregularities and corruption in the polls.
Although Ishraque had sought the cancellation of the polls鈥� results and demanded a fresh election, he did not seek a court order declaring him as mayor in his case statement, according to lawyers.
Rafiqul Islam, one of the lawyers of Ishraque, told 抖阴精品 that initially they had not sought a declaration as mayor in the case, but they later included the demand in it, correcting the case statement under section 69 of the related law.
鈥楢fter court declared BNP鈥檚 Shahadat Hossain as mayor of the Chattogram City Corporation, we corrected the case petition and sought declaring Ishraque as mayor of the DSCC,鈥� he said.
Rafiqul said, 鈥楩ollowing our petition, the court declared Ishraque Hossain as mayor of the DSCC under section 59 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Election Rules鈥�2010 which allows the cancellation of the elected candidate or the announcement of another candidate as elected or the cancellation of the entire election.鈥�
Now the Election Commission will issue a gazette notification announcing Ishraque as mayor and take steps for his oath, he added.
After the court verdict, a celebratory procession led by Ishraque was brought out on the court premises where pro-BNP lawyers and Ishraque followers were present.
In his reaction, Ishraque, also son of undivided Dhaka City Corporation鈥檚 former mayor late Sadeque Hossain Khoka, said that he received justice from the court.
He told reporters that his party would decide whether he would take oath as the DSCC mayor.
BNP senior secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said that the court verdict was a victory for democracy, proving that Ishraque was the people鈥檚 mayor.
He said that the BNP鈥檚 acting chairman would be informed about the court decision before determining the party鈥檚 next course of action in this regard.
Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Ruhin Hossain Prince told 抖阴精品 that they were surprised why such verdicts were coming from court over the controversial elections held under the Awami League regime.
鈥榃e do not consider the elections held under the past regime to be fair or acceptable, and if a court ruling now validates them, it would raise question whether the elections should be deemed legitimate despite the controversies surrounding those,鈥� he said.
National Citizen Party senior joint convener Samanta Sharmin questioned whether the BNP aimed to assume power through court rulings on the controversial elections held over the past 15 years under the Awami League government rather than through the electoral process.
She alleged that the BNP was taking advantage of the existing state structure through the judiciary.
NCP joint convener Sarwar Tushar expressed concern over the court鈥檚 role in determining people鈥檚 representatives, calling it a deception against the voters鈥� rights.
After the fall of Awami League government on August 5, 2024, in a student-led mass uprising, the Election Tribunal in Chattogram in October declared BNP leader Shahadat Hossain as mayor of the Chattogram City Corporation.
The court declared him as mayor in a case filed by Shahadat on February 24, 2021, seeking the cancellation of the results of the CCC election held on January 27, 2021, claiming that the polls were manipulated by EC officials.