Local Government Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan has criticized the practice of assuming mayoral office through court verdicts following contested elections held under the ousted Awami League government. In a recent interview given on Friday at his official residence on Hare Road, Dhaka, the adviser stated that such appointments effectively legitimize elections that were widely regarded as fraudulent. He urged political parties to refrain from recognizing results stemming from such disputed processes.

During the interview, Asif Mahmud discussed several topics including election reforms, national elections, local government issues, the banning of the Awami League, activities within his ministry, allegations against a former APS, and his father's contractor license. One specific topic of discussion was the trend of court rulings allowing defeated candidates to assume mayoral posts.

The first such instance occurred after the 2021 Chattogram City Corporation election, where BNP's mayoral candidate Shahadat Hossain filed a case challenging the election results. The election, held on January 27, 2021, had resulted in a significant victory for Awami League candidate M. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury. However, Shahadat Hossain accused nine individuals of electoral fraud in a petition filed with the electoral tribunal on February 24, 2021.

Following the fall of the Awami League government during the July popular uprising, the then-mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury ceased attending office. Subsequently, on August 19, Tofael Islam, the Divisional Commissioner of Chattogram, was appointed as the city’s administrator. On October 1, the court ruled in favor of Shahadat Hossain, declaring him the winner and instructing the Election Commission to issue an official notification within ten days, which it duly did. Following Shahadat’s assumption of the mayoral office, other candidates from disputed elections were encouraged to pursue similar actions.

In a related development, the court annulled the results of the 2020 Dhaka South City Corporation election and declared BNP leader Ishraq Hossain, son of former mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, as the new mayor. Ishraq had initially filed a petition challenging the election results on March 3, 2020. According to legal sources, Ishraq first sought only to invalidate the election results but later amended his plea to request that he be declared the winner following the political shift and Shahadat’s success in Chattogram.

According to the Election Commission, voter turnout during the 2020 Dhaka South City election was only 29 percent. However, widespread reports of empty polling stations throughout election day had already cast doubt on the credibility of the turnout figure.

Further controversy emerged when Jatiya Party’s mayoral candidate Iqbal Hossain Taposh filed a petition on April 23 challenging the 2023 Barishal City Corporation election results.

When asked whether court rulings appointing mayors from such elections effectively validate otherwise unacceptable polls, Asif Mahmud responded that he believes it indeed legitimizes these contested elections. He stressed that political parties should maintain the integrity to declare such elections illegitimate and refrain from accepting any political advantage gained from them.

Regarding why the Election Commission proceeds to issue notifications without appealing against such rulings, Asif Mahmud noted that the Chattogram case occurred before he assumed responsibility for the Local Government Ministry. He emphasized that the ministry was not a party to these cases and thus had no official standing to oppose the court decisions.

He further explained that after the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, many petitioners amended their original pleas, adding requests for their own declarations as mayors, a shift from their initial focus on simply annulling the election results.

The adviser also clarified that since the ministry was not legally involved as a party in these cases, it lacked the formal opportunity to intervene. However, he indicated that if the matter comes under the ministry’s jurisdiction in the future, it would be reviewed appropriately. Presently, the issue remains with the Election Commission, which as a constitutional body, will decide whether to issue a gazette notification or to file an appeal.