The court has declared BNP candidate Ishraque Hossain the winner of the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) election.
Ishraque Hossain had participated in the election held on February 1, 2020.
On Thursday, March 27, Dhaka’s First Joint District Judge Md. Nurul Islam, presiding over the Election Tribunal, announced the verdict.
The court also nullified the government gazette that had declared former mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh as the mayor under the symbol of "Boat."
Instead, Ishraque Hossain, the candidate under the symbol "Sheaf of Paddy," was declared the new mayor.
Ishraque Hossain was present in court during the announcement of the verdict.
Ishraque Hossain had filed a lawsuit on March 3, 2020, seeking the annulment of the DSCC election and its results, citing irregularities, corruption, and unacceptability.
The lawsuit named eight defendants, including the then Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) KM Nurul Huda, Returning Officer Md. Abdul Baten, and DSCC mayor Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.
Ishraque`s lawyer, Taherul Islam Tauhid, said, "We filed the lawsuit seeking the cancellation of the election due to irregularities, corruption, and unacceptability.
We also requested the court to declare him mayor. The court today ruled in our favor and declared Ishraque Hossain the mayor."
The elections for both Dhaka North and South City Corporations were held on February 1, 2020. Awami League candidates Atiqul Islam and Fazle Noor Taposh were elected as mayors of the North and South respectively.
The Election Commission published the results gazette on February 2, and they were sworn in to serve in their roles.
However, following the fall of Sheikh Hasina`s government, both were removed from their mayoral positions.
On October 16 of last year, former mayor Atiq was arrested by Mohammadpur police from the Mohakhali DOHS area of Dhaka.
He was subsequently shown arrested in various cases and taken into remand.
He is currently in prison.
On the other hand, former mayor Taposh`s whereabouts are unknown, with some sources claiming that he left the country before the fall of Sheikh Hasina`s government.
According to election law, any aggrieved candidate or their designated representative must file a petition with the Election Tribunal within 30 days of the publication of the election results gazette.
The tribunal is required to settle the case within 180 days of the filing. If the aggrieved party is not satisfied with the verdict, they may appeal to the Election Appellate Tribunal within 30 days.
The Election Appellate Tribunal must settle the appeal within 120 days.
