DSCC Mayor: Oath-taking likely this week

Officials of the local government ministry are discussing when BNP leader Ishraque Hossain will be sworn in.

The officials on Saturday received a High Court order which cleared Ishraque's path to become the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

The ministry has yet to set a date for the ceremony. But multiple sources at the ministry said the oath-taking may take place within this week, if all formalities are completed in time.

Meanwhile, Nagar Bhaban remained closed yesterday due to protests by Ishraque's supporters and employees from various levels of the DSCC. Due to the demonstrations, the deliveries of all 28 civic services, including waste management, mosquito control, the issuance of birth and death certificates, have been suspended over the last 12 days.

The HC on Thursday rejected a writ petition that sought a stay on the Election Commission's gazette notification declaring Ishraque as the mayor. On Saturday, the ministry received a copy of the court order, which led to several rounds of internal discussions among senior government and ministry officials.

A ministry source said speculation over Prof Muhammad Yunus's resignation and a potential reshuffle in the advisory council has complicated the process. According to protocol, either the prime minister or the chief adviser is responsible for administering the mayoral oath.

Md Rezaul Maksud Jahedi, secretary of the Local Government Division, told The Daily Star yesterday, "There is no bar to Ishraque Hossain taking the oath. We received the court order yesterday [Saturday]. We have to follow some procedures for this. We held a meeting today [Sunday] in this regard."

Another ministry source said as part of the transition, current DSCC Administrator Shahjahan Mia has been assigned additional responsibilities as managing director of Dhaka Wasa. Once Ishraque takes oath, he will officially assume mayoral duties from Shahjahan Mia.

On February 1, 2020, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh was elected mayor in the DSCC elections. He assumed office on May 16, and the first corporation meeting was held on June 30.

According to section 6 of the Local Government (City Corporation) Act, 2009, the tenure of a corporation is five years from the date of its first meeting. Based on that, the five-year term of the corporation is set to end on June 29 this year.

This means that even if Ishraque takes the oath today, his maximum term as mayor would be just 34 days.

Speaking to this correspondent, Ishraque said he was not officially informed as of yesterday when he would be sworn in.