BNP leader Ishraque Hossain met with Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin on Thursday to seek an update on the publication of the gazette notification declaring him as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
The meeting took place two days after the Election Commission sent a letter to the Law Ministry requesting its opinion on the issuance of the gazette notification in Ishraque’s favour.
“The file has reached the Election Commission following the election tribunal’s verdict, and now the gazette notification will be issued. It has already been sent to the Law Ministry for its opinion. As I was the petitioner in the case, I came to get an update on the matter,” Ishraque told reporters after meeting the CEC at his office in the capital.
On March 27, an Election Tribunal in Dhaka overturned the result of the 2020 DSCC election, which had declared Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh the winner, and instead pronounced Ishraque Hossain as the rightful mayor.
On Tuesday, the Election Commission sought the Law Ministry’s opinion regarding the issuance of a gazette notification in favour of Ishraque, who is the son of Sadeque Hossain Khoka, the last mayor of undivided Dhaka.
When asked how long he would be allowed to serve as mayor, Ishraque said that once the gazette is published and subsequent formalities are completed, he will consult with his legal team to determine the length of his tenure.
He added that all actions taken thus far have followed proper legal procedures in accordance with the country’s existing laws and local government regulations.
The DSCC election was held on February 1, 2020, in which Ishraque lost to Taposh by approximately 188,000 votes.
Taposh assumed office on May 16, 2020. Since the first meeting of the elected city corporation body took place in June 2020, the DSCC’s five-year term is scheduled to expire in June 2025.
