HC order tomorrow on writ seeking to suspend EC gazette declaring Ishraque as Dhaka South mayor

The High Court has set Wednesday (21 May) to deliver its order on a writ petition that is seeking suspension of the Election Commission (EC) gazette notification that declared BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

The bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury today (20 May) fixed the date after hearing the petition in the afternoon.

The hearing started at 1pm and was adjourned at around 2pm. Later, the hearing resumed from 4:10pm.

Lawyer Mohammad Hossain represented the petitioners during the hearing.

The Dhaka South City Corporation election was held on 1 February 2020, in which Awami League (AL) candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was elected mayor. 

The Election Commission published the gazette of the election results on 2 February. Taposh then took the oath and has been performing his duties since then.

Taposh received more than 425,000 votes in that election for the Dhaka South mayoral position. His closest competitor, Ishraque, received 236,000 votes. 

Citing irregularities and corruption, Ishraque Hossain filed a case on 3 March 2020 seeking to nullify the results.

Following the Awami League government's fall amid a mass uprising last August, the mayors of all city corporations across the country were removed. 

Since then, Additional Secretary Shahjahan Miah has been serving as the administrator of Dhaka South City Corporation.

Meanwhile, on 27 March, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam cancelled the election results that had declared Fazle Noor Taposh as 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 in 10 days. Following this ruling, the Election Commission published the gazette on 27 April.

On the day of the gazette publication, two individuals, Rafiqul Islam and Mamunur Rashid, issued legal notices appealing against the ruling that declared Ishraque Hossain as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation. 

The notices urged restraint from publishing the gazette and from Ishraque taking the oath.

Their lawyer said the ruling was issued hastily without following proper procedures. "We thought the Election Commission would challenge this order. They didn't. News reports showed the law affairs adviser as saying that the notification was issued without waiting for the opinion that was sought from the Ministry of Law." 

"The tribunal cannot issue an order that has no validity. The term has already ended. The mayoral position was vacated through an ordinance," he added. 

Later, Mamunur Rashid filed a writ petition with the High Court. The petition requested a rule asking why the 27 March ruling and the 27 April gazette should not be declared illegal, and why directions should not be given to prevent Ishraque Hossain from taking the oath. 

The petition also sought suspension of the ruling and gazette while the rule is under consideration.

Meanwhile, Ishraque's supporters have initiated a blockade programme at Nagar Bhaban, demanding that he be sworn in as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation. 

They have been carrying out these programmes for the past few days.