Online Desk  :   BNP leader Dr. Shahadat Hossain, recently declared the mayor-elect of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) through a court order, is set to be sworn in on Sunday (Nov 3). AF Hassan Ariff, Adviser to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives will administer the oath at 11:00 am in the Local Government Division’s conference room at the Secretariat in Dhaka.  The ceremony is expected to be attended by senior government officials and key BNP leaders, with many party supporters from Chattogram. Maruful Haque Chowdhury, Shahadat’s personal secretary, confirmed the matter.

He said following the ceremony, the new mayor will visit the mausoleum of BNP founder and former President Ziaur Rahman to pay tribute. Shahadat is scheduled to return to Chattogram on November 5 to formally begin his duties, he added. The CCC election, originally held on January 27, 2021, was marred by significant irregularities, with Awami League candidate Rezaul Karim winning with 369,000 votes.

Shahadat subsequently filed a case on February 24, 2021, contesting the legitimacy of the published election results. The election tribunal, presided over by Judge Khairul Amin, declared Shahadat as the rightful mayor on October 1, annulling Rezaul Karim’s victory. The court directed the election commission to issue an official notification within ten days, which was released on October 8 following the ruling.