Dhaka South Mayor-elect Ishraque's supporters end day 3 protest by locking up Nagar Bhaban
No one could enter the Dhaka South City Corporation headquarter premises as all gates have been locked, rendering services inactive
Highlights:
- Ishraque supporters threaten tougher movement if his mayoral demand remains unmet
- Thousands rallied, demanding Ishraque's installation, marching through key Dhaka points
- Police barricades stopped supporters' Secretariat approach at multiple city locations
- Dhaka South employees suspends work, joins protest, showing solidarity with demand
Protesters demanding the swearing-in of BNP leader Ishraque Hossain as mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation concluded their demonstration for the third consecutive day around 1pm today (17 May) by locking up the Nagar Bhaban gates.
No one could enter the Dhaka South City Corporation headquarter premises as all gates were locked, rendering services inactive.
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Protesters also announced plans for a tougher movement if their demand remains unmet.
Several thousand people had gathered for the third consecutive day in front of Nagar Bhaban, chanting slogans and holding banners calling for Ishraque's official installation as mayor.
The protest began around 9am with a sit-in, and around 11am, demonstrators chanted slogans and marched through key city points — Gulistan, Zero Point, Paltan intersection, Press Club, High Court, Education Building, and Bangabazar — before returning to Nagar Bhaban.
Supporters also attempted to approach the Secretariat, but were stopped by police barricades at multiple locations, including Zero Point, the south gate of the Press Club, and the Shikkha Bhaban. They remained there briefly, chanting slogans, before retreating.
Traffic on the road in front of Nagar Bhaban came to a halt from 10am as processions from different parts of the capital joined the gathering.
Meanwhile, Dhaka South employees also expressed solidarity with the protesters, joining the programme from the morning and suspending regular operations, according to media reports.
Despite a court verdict and a gazette issued by the Election Commission (EC), Ishraque has yet to be sworn in.
The demonstrators warned that if the government continues to delay the oath, "the people will do it themselves."
On 27 April, the EC issued a gazette declaring Ishraque — son of late BNP leader and former Dhaka mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka — the new mayor of Dhaka South, based on a legal opinion from the law ministry.
This followed a 27 March verdict by Judge Md Nurul Islam of Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Electoral Tribunal, which annulled the 2020 election results that named Awami League's Fazle Noor Taposh as mayor and instead declared Ishraque the rightful winner.
Ishraque had filed the case on 3 March 2020, citing vote rigging and other irregularities in the 1 February 2020 city corporation election.
Following the ouster of the Awami League government through a mass uprising on 5 August 2024, the interim government removed all mayors from the country's 12 city corporations and appointed administrators as part of a broader administrative reshuffle.
On 13 February, the Local Government Division appointed Additional Secretary Md Shahjahan Miah as the acting Dhaka South administrator, a post that had remained vacant since December 2024.
