The court has declared BNP mayoral candidate Ishraq Hossain the winner of the 2020 Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) election. Ishraq Hossain is the son of the late Sadeq Hossain Khoka, the mayor of the undivided Dhaka City.
Dhaka’s First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md. Nurul Islam gave the verdict on Thursday (March 27). This information was learned from the relevant court sources.
The order cancelled the government’s gazette notification of former mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, who was declared the winner with the boat symbol, as mayor. At the same time, Ishraq Hossain, the candidate with the paddy sheaf symbol, was declared the mayor. Ishraq Hossain was present in the court during the verdict.
Mayoral candidate Ishraq Hossain had filed a case on March 3, 2020, seeking the cancellation of the DSCC election and results on charges of irregularities, corruption and inadmissibility. A total of eight people, including the then Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda, Returning Officer Md. Abdul Baten and South City Mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh, were made defendants in the case.
Ishraq’s lawyer Taherul Islam Touhid said, “We filed a case seeking cancellation of the election on allegations of irregularities, corruption and inadmissibility. At the same time, we requested that he (Ishraq Hossain) be declared mayor. The court ruled in our favor today.
The Dhaka North and South City Corporation elections were held on February 1, 2020. In the elections, Awami League candidate Atiqul Islam in the north and another Awami League candidate Sheikh Fazle Nur Taposh in the south were elected mayors. The Election Commission published the election gazette on February 2 of that year. Since then, they have been serving as mayors after taking oath. They were expelled from the post of mayor after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 last year.
According to the election law, the aggrieved candidate or his nominee has to file an appeal with the Election Tribunal within 30 days of the publication of the results gazette. The tribunal will settle the case within 180 days after the case. If the aggrieved person is not happy with the verdict, he can go to the Election Appeal Tribunal within 30 days. The Election Appeal Tribunal will settle the appeal within 120 days.
Earlier, the court declared BNP mayoral candidate Dr. Shahadat Hossain the winner by canceling the results of the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) election held on October 1 last year and February 24, 2021. The court ruled on that day by the Election Tribunal and the court of Joint District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Khairul Amin.
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