Considering himself the "Mayor of the people," Engineer Ishraque Hossain has announced he will spend Eid al-Adha with sanitation workers. He also stated he would assist the administration and sanitation workers of the North City Corporation in performing their duties.
Ishraque, a member of the BNP Chairperson's International Relations Affairs Committee, made these remarks in a post on his verified Facebook page on Friday morning (May 23).
In his post, he wrote, "Taking the oath is merely a formality. As the Mayor of the people, it is my responsibility to ensure adequate waste management preparations are in place before the upcoming Eid al-Adha. I assure the residents of Dhaka that I will assist the administration and sanitation workers in the North [City Corporation] in carrying out their duties until a mayor assumes office there."
He further wrote, "I will approve a zone-based monitoring team in coordination with former councillors and past election candidates from the South. I will initiate efforts to create a comfortable environment within the afternoon (16 hours)! I myself will be with the sanitation workers in the South."
Background and Recent Developments
It's worth noting that the Dhaka South City Corporation election was held on February 1, 2020. In that election, Taposh received over 425,000 votes for the Dhaka South mayoral position, while his closest rival, BNP's Ishraque, garnered 236,000 votes. Consequently, the Awami League candidate, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, was elected mayor. The Election Commission published the gazette of the election results on February 2, and Taposh had been serving in the role after taking his oath. However, Ishraque filed a case on March 3, 2020, seeking the cancellation of the results, citing allegations of irregularities and corruption in the election.
Following the fall of the Awami League government due to the student-people's uprising in August of last year, mayors of all city corporations in the country were removed. Subsequently, Additional Secretary Shahjahan Mia served as the administrator of Dhaka South City.
Meanwhile, on March 27, Md. Nurul Islam, the First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge of Dhaka, canceled the results declaring Fazle Noor Taposh the winner of the 2020 Dhaka South City Corporation election and declared BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as the mayor. The court ordered the gazette to be published within 10 days. After receiving this verdict, the Election Commission published the gazette on April 27.
However, on the day the gazette was published, two individuals named Rafiqul Islam and Mamunur Rashid served a legal notice against the verdict and decree declaring Ishraque Hossain as the Mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation. The notice urged the Election Commission to refrain from publishing the gazette and Ishraque from taking the oath.
On May 14, Md. Mamunur Rashid, a resident of Dhaka South City Corporation, filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the validity of the gazette issued by the Election Commission and seeking an order to prevent BNP leader Ishraque Hossain from being sworn in as DSCC mayor.
On Thursday morning (May 22), a bench of Justice Md. Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury dismissed the writ. The 7-page order was published on the Supreme Court website that evening.
Consequently, Ishraque's lawyers stated that there is no obstacle to taking the oath. On the other hand, the petitioner's lawyer, Kazi Akbar Ali, said that the oath cannot be administered until the appeal verdict is delivered.
In response to this, Ishraque's supporters have resumed their protests. They left the blocked road in Kakrail on Thursday after issuing an ultimatum for the oath to be administered within the next 48 hours.
