Awami League has nominated former Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Md Atiqul Islam as its mayoral candidate in the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) by-polls.
The ruling party’s Local Government Nomination Board made the decision at a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister and Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, held at Ganabhaban on Tuesday.
This is the second time that Awami League has thrown its weight behind a businessman in this by-election by picking up Atiqul from 18 people who sought its nomination.
The vote in the north side of the capital is slated for February 26. The DNCC mayor post fell vacant on December 1 last year after the death of Annisul Huq on November 30.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presides over the meeting at Ganabhaban on January 16, 2018
Focus BanglaAn Awami League-endorsed candidate, former Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Annisul had become the first DNCC mayor by winning the polls in 2015.
Since his death, Atiqul Islam has been campaigning hard to bag the ruling party’s nomination. He even met the prime minister twice, apart from lobbying with the other senior leaders of the party. Posters and banners in his support had also started popping up throughout the city.
Born on July 1, 1961 in Daudkandi, Comilla, Atiqul was the youngest among the eleven children of senior police officer Momtajuddin Ahmed and Mazeda Ahmed, a housewife.
He completed SSC and HSC from BAF Shaheen College in Dhaka. Afterwards, he studied at Dhaka University.
Atiqul’s elder brother Md Tafazzul Islam was the 17th chief justice of Bangladesh Supreme Court. His other brother Mainul Islam was a Lt Gen in the Bangladesh Army.
Atiqul Islam entered the readymade garment industry in 1985. He became the president of BGMEA in 2013. He is also the founder of Islam group.
On February 26, the Election Commission will also arrange polls for the 36 councillor posts and 12 reserved seats in the 36 new wards of DNCC, which has some 2.95 million voters.
According to the commission, January 18 is the last date for the submission of nomination papers by DNCC by-polls contenders. Anyone willing to pull out of the mayoral race will have to do so by January 29.
According to the schedule, nomination papers will be scrutinized between January 21 and 22. The commission will allocate electoral symbols on January 30.
