LDP candidate files case to nullify Chandanaish Municipality mayor election after four years

M Ainul Kabir, the mayoral candidate from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has filed a case seeking to annul the results of the 2021 Chandanaish Municipality election in Chattogram and to be declared the rightful winner.

Kabir submitted the case to the Election Tribunal at the Joint District Judge's Court on 7 May, challenging the legitimacy of the election held on 14 February 2021.

Confirming the development, the plaintiff's lawyer, Advocate Rafiqul Alam, stated, "The court has accepted the petition and scheduled a hearing for 8 June."

According to the case documents, the plaintiff alleges that Mahabubul Alam Khoka was unlawfully declared the elected mayor following a flawed and unfair electoral process.

The case also calls for all post-election activities to be declared void and requests that the court name M Ainul Kabir—the LDP-nominated candidate with the umbrella symbol—as the legitimate mayor.

The case names Mayor Mahabubul Alam Khoka, fellow mayoral candidates Mahabubul Alam Chowdhury and Faruk Bahadur, the Chattogram Deputy Commissioner, and the Returning Officer (Upazila Nirbahi Officer) as defendants.

The complaint outlines that under Rule 10(1) of the Municipal Election Rules 2010, the nomination process—including submission, scrutiny, and withdrawal—was completed by 17 January 2021. The official gazette then confirmed the election date as 14 February.

In that election, Ainul Kabir contested under the umbrella symbol and secured 1,916 votes across 16 polling centres in 9 wards. Meanwhile, the boat symbol candidate Mahabubul Alam Khoka was declared the winner with 16,958 votes—a result Kabir claims was unethical and manipulated.