Ishraque's supporters march from Nagar Bhaban to Secretariat

Supporters of Ishraque Hossain have marched from Dhaka South City Corporation’s (DSCC) Nagar Bhaban to the Secretariat, demanding that the BNP leader be handed over the responsibilities of the DSCC mayor.

On Saturday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Nagar Bhaban for the third consecutive day. From early morning, people from different parts of Dhaka started arriving at Nagar Bhaban in processions. As the crowd grew, traffic in the area came to a halt around 10:30 am.

Although the main gate of Nagar Bhaban was kept closed, people were entering through the side entrance, reports UNB.

Around 11:00 am, groups of protesters began moving from Nagar Bhaban towards Paltan via Golap Shah Mazar and the GPO. When police blocked access to the Secretariat from the GPO intersection, the demonstrators redirected their march towards the National Press Club.

Khalil Shaheen, a protester from Shahbagh, said: “The government is stalling on swearing in Ishraque. It’s a tactic to prevent BNP leaders from gaining any meaningful position.”

Shahadat Hossain Saikat from Dhanmondi added, “Ishraque Hossain is the people's mayor. Under the autocratic [Awami League] regime, they snatched away the people’s mandate and installed someone else. Now that the court has ruled in Ishraque’s favour, the government is still not arranging his oath.”

The DSCC election was held on Feb 1, 2020. Awami League candidate Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh defeated BNP’s Ishraque by a margin of nearly 200,000 votes.

Following the change in government after last year's mass uprising, Dhaka’s First Joint District Judge and Electoral Tribunal Judge Md Nurul Islam overturned the earlier result and declared Ishraque the mayor of Dhaka South on Mar 27.

Upon receiving the court's verdict, the Election Commission (EC) sought legal advice from the law ministry on Apr 22 regarding the issuance of a gazette notification.

Then, on Apr 27, the EC issued a gazette officially naming Ishraque as the new mayor of DSCC.

However, Ishraque, son of the late undivided Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, has yet to be sworn in, sparking frustration among his supporters.

Earlier on Wednesday, hundreds of people staged a protest in front of Nagar Bhaban under the banner of “Dhaka Bashi” (residents of Dhaka), demanding that Ishraque be instated. On Thursday, they announced continuous protest programs.

As part of that announcement, on Thursday, protesters blockaded the main gate and other entrances to Nagar Bhaban, preventing officials and staff from entering between morning and 2pm. Citizens seeking services also faced difficulties.

In light of the situation, the Local Government Division on Thursday sent a letter to the Law and Justice Division, seeking clarification on whether there are any legal barriers preventing the implementation of the court’s verdict and the EC’s decision not to appeal the ruling in Ishraque's favour in the 2020 DSCC mayoral election.

In the letter, the Local Government Division sought the opinion of the law secretary on whether there are any legal complications under Section 6 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, that would prevent further action.