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DHAKA: BNP leader Shahadat Hossain, who became mayor of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC) following a court ruling, has now been appointed administrator of the same corporation by the government.
The Local Government Division issued a notification on Sunday (October 25), appointing him as a full-time administrator.
The division had prepared a proposal to appoint Shahadat as administrator in March this year, but no order was issued at the time. He has now been appointed amid questions over the tenure of the elected council and his position as mayor.
According to the notification signed by Local Government Division Deputy Secretary Jewel Rana, Shahadat will serve as administrator until further orders under Section 4 of the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Act, 2026. He will receive monthly honorarium and other allowances in accordance with the rules. The order, issued in the public interest, takes immediate effect.
How Shahadat Became Mayor
BNP leader Shahadat Hossain contested the Chattogram City Corporation mayoral election held on January 27, 2021. According to the results announced at the time, Awami League candidate Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was declared the winner with 369,248 votes, while Shahadat received 52,489 votes.
Alleging widespread irregularities and vote rigging, Shahadat filed a case with the election tribunal on February 24 that year, seeking to annul the results. Nine people, including the then chief election commissioner, were named as defendants.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was removed from the mayoral post. On August 19 that year, the government appointed Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md Tofail Islam as the city corporation’s administrator.
On October 1, 2024, Mohammed Khairul Amin, a judge of the Chattogram Election Tribunal and joint district and sessions judge, delivered a verdict in Shahadat’s case. The court annulled the decision declaring Rezaul Karim Chowdhury the winner and declared Shahadat the elected mayor. It also directed the authorities to issue a notification on the matter within 10 days.
Acting on the court’s order, the Election Commission issued a revised notification on October 8, declaring Shahadat Hossain the mayor.
He was sworn in as mayor on November 3 at the conference room of the Local Government Division at the Secretariat. A A F Hasan Arif, local government adviser to the then interim government, administered the oath.
Nearly three years and nine months after the election, Shahadat took the oath as mayor. He will now run the corporation as an administrator appointed by the government.