Tabith Awal, BNP’s defeated mayoral candidate in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) election, on Monday filed a petition with the electoral tribunal seeking cancellation of the gazette on the results of the February-1 polls.
On behalf of Tabith, his lawyer AKM Ehsanur Rahman filed the petition with the court of Dhaka’s first joint district judge Utpal Bhattacharya in the morning.
Talking to UNB, Ehsan said they sought cancellation of the gazette announcing Awami League Mayoral runner Atiqul Islam as the mayor of the DNNCC. “This means we demanded the annulment of the Feb-1 DNCC polls and fresh elections to it.”
He said eight people, including the Chief Election Commissioner, the Returning Officer and Atiqul and five other mayoral candidates have been made defendants in the petition. “The names of 41 witnesses have been included in the 239-page petition.”
Ehsan said they also submitted a 784-page document on various election ‘irregularities and vote frauds’ with the petition in support of their demand for cancellation of the election results.
He said the court accepted their petition, and will soon fix the date for a hearing on it.
The newly-elected mayors and councillors of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) took oath of office on February 27.
Elections to the DNCC and DSCC were held on February 1 last when Awami League candidates Atiqul and Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh won the mayoral posts.
A gazette notification was issued by the EC on February 4 naming Atiqul and Taposh as the elected mayors of DNCC and DSCC repressively.
The Commission also made Dhaka’s first joint district judge Utpal Bhattacharya’s court as the electoral tribunal to dispose of any complaint regarding the city polls.
source: UNB
