A Dhaka court has declared BNP leader Ishraque Hossain, son of former Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), nullifying the results of the 2020 election.
Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam delivered the verdict on Thursday. Ishraque Hossain was present in court when the ruling was announced.
On March 3, 2020, Ishraque filed a case seeking the cancellation of the DSCC election results, citing allegations of irregularities, corruption, and ineligibility.
The case named eight defendants, including the then-chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda, returning officer Md Abdul Baten, and DSCC mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh.
Ishraque's lawyer, Taherul Islam Touhid, said: "We challenged the election results due to allegations of irregularities, corruption, and ineligibility. The court ruled in our favour today, declaring Ishraque Hossain as mayor."
The Dhaka North and South city corporation elections were held on February 1, 2020, in which Awami League candidates Atiqul Islam and Fazle Noor Taposh were elected mayors of North and South, respectively.
The Election Commission published the election gazette on February 2, and they were subsequently sworn in.
However, both were dismissed from their mayoral positions following the fall of the Awami League government.
On October 16 last year, former mayor Atiqul Islam was arrested by Mohammadpur police from the capital’s Mohakhali DOHS area. He was later shown arrested in multiple cases and placed on remand. He is currently in jail.
Meanwhile, there is no trace of former DSCC mayor Taposh, with various sources claiming he left the country before the fall of the previous government.
