Ishraque's mayoral oath: Protest continues for 11th day at Nagar Bhaban

Supporters of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain continued their protest in front of the Nagar Bhaban for the 11th day today (25 May), demanding that he be sworn in as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

The BNP leader's supporters said they would not call off their protests until Ishraque takes oath and takes charge of the Dhaka South City Corporation.

Dhaka South employee union is also observing a work stoppage and sit-in at Nagar Bhaban in support of the demand.

Nagar Bhaban has remained locked, with employees occupying the premises and chanting slogans. As a result, regular city corporation activities have been virtually shut down for over a week.

At around 10am today, employees gathered at Nagar Bhaban, chanting slogans. Nagar Bhaban cannot run without a mayor, they said.

Earlier, on 22 May, the High Court bench of Justice Md Akram Hossain Chowdhury and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury dismissed the writ petition, saying the writ lacked jurisdiction and the matter should have been brought before the electoral forum rather than the High Court.

Following the High Court's dismissal of the writ on 22 May, Ishraque temporarily suspended the protest for 24 to 48 hours to observe if the Local Government Ministry would act. When no action was taken, supporters resumed the sit-in yesterday.

Supporters of Ishraque, son of late Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, continuing their protest at Nagar Bhaban today, appeared steadfast in their demands, saying they would not leave until he takes charge of Dhaka South.

Afroza Haque, a Dhaka South employee, said, "We will return to work once the oath is administered."

The controversy stems from the 1 February 2020 DSCC election, where Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh of the Awami League was declared the winner amid allegations of irregularities.

Ishraque challenged the results in court, and on 27 March 2020, Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Election Tribunal declared Ishraque the mayor, nullifying the earlier result. The Election Commission published a gazette declaring Ishraque mayor on 27 April.

However, on 14 May, a writ petition was filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Mamunur Rashid seeking to block Ishraque's oath-taking.

The Local Government Ministry postponed the swearing-in, citing legal complications. Ishraque publicly demanded the resignation of Local Government advisors Asif Mahmud and Mahfuz Alam over the delay.

The ministry is reportedly discussing the oath-taking process, with officials indicating the oath could be administered by tomorrow (26 May).

Disclaimer: The story has been updated to remove parts which, citing Ishraque's lawyer, stated that the BNP leader had filed a writ petition in the High Court this morning seeking a directive to the authorities concerned regarding his oath-taking. Ishraque later told the media that he has filed no such writ petitions. The update also removed a paragraph which stated that an appeal was filed today at the Appellate Division seeking a stay on the High Court's dismissal of a writ petition that challenged the legality of the Election Commission's gazette declaring Ishraque mayor and sought to prevent his swearing-in. An EC official later clarified that no such appeal was filed.