Dhaka: Several hundred people have gathered in front of Nagar Bhaban for the third consecutive day, demanding BNP leader Ishraque Hossain's swearing-in as the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation.

Around 11am today (17 May), the protesters marched from Nagar Bhaban to Zero Point in Gulistan and then returned to Nagar Bhaban, where they staged a sit-in.

People from different areas of the capital arrived at Nagar Bhaban with processions since the morning. Around 10am, vehicular movement on the road in front of Nagar Bhaban was snapped as more people joined in the protest.

Despite a court verdict and an official gazette issued by the Election Commission (EC), Ishraque has not yet been sworn in as the Dhaka South mayor.

The demonstrators warned that if the government continues to delay administering the oath, the people will do it themselves.

On 27 April, the EC announced Ishraque, the son of late BNP leader and former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, as the new mayor of Dhaka South through a gazette after receiving a legal opinion from the law ministry.

Earlier, on 27 March, Judge Md Nurul Islam of Dhaka's First Joint District Judge and Electoral Tribunal nullified the 2020 Dhaka South election results that declared Awami League's Fazle Noor Taposh as the mayor, and instead declared Ishraque the rightful mayor.

The Dhaka South and Dhaka North city corporation elections were held on 1 February 2020. Awami League candidates Atiqul Islam and Fazle Noor Taposh were elected mayors of Dhaka North and South, respectively.

On 3 March 2020, Ishraque filed a case challenging the results, citing vote rigging and irregularities.

After the Awami League government led by ex-prime minister Sheikh Hasina was toppled through a mass uprising on 5 August 2024, the interim government formed soon after removed all the mayors from the 12 city corporations across the country and appointed administrators to run these institutions as part of its administrative reshuffle.

On 13 February, the Local Government Division issued a notification giving additional secretary Md Shahjahan Miah the responsibility of the DSCC administrator as additional charge to his main responsibility as the position was vacant since December 2024.