Published : 06 Sep 2026, 09:10 PM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:48 AM
Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Shahadat Hossain has said he is “surprised” by remarks from Jamaat-e-Islami's chief questioning his hold on the mayoral post.
He accused Shafiqur Rahman of “effectively lending cover to Awami League's ‘fascism’”.
Shafiqur, the Leader of the Opposition, raised the question of Shahadat's tenure on Saturday night at the closing rally of the 11-party alliance's Dhaka-Chattogram long march at Laldighi Maidan.
Shahadat hit back with a six-minute video posted to his Facebook page past midnight that night.
By Sunday afternoon, the video had racked up 198,000 views, nearly 2,000 comments and around 20,000 reactions.
Addressing the Laldighi crowd on Saturday, Shafiqur claimed the current administration was treading the same path as the previous "fascist" government, calling Chattogram fresh proof of it.
"There's a mayor here. Does his term still stand? What should we call him? Expired, shouldn't we?
"Now I hear he plans to stay as long as he pleases. Tell me, is that good governance or is that ‘fascism’?"
Shafiqur said Shahadat should contest again and lead the city if elected by voters, but should accept the result if the public chooses someone else.
In his late-night video response, Shahadat said: "Given where things stand, I was genuinely stunned by his remarks. I believe that through this statement, he has effectively legitimised Rezaul Karim, who became mayor through Awami League's authoritarian and ‘fascist’ manoeuvring back in 2021.
“In doing so, he has lent considerable support to Awami League's ‘fascism’."
Shahadat, who became mayor through a court verdict following a legal challenge, called the ruling “historic”.
"This verdict challenged ‘fascist’ rule. Yet the Jamaat ameer is out there saying ‘fascism’ is being established.
Shahadat said the verdict clearly described the Awami League mayor and his tenure as unlawful.
He argued that if the previous five-year term is now treated as valid, it amounts to supporting the Awami League’s “fascism”.
He said he took the oath as mayor on Nov 3, 2024 and, according to the court ruling, his tenure would ordinarily run until 2029.
Earlier in his video, Shahadat mocked the alliance’s programme as a “long drive” rather than a long march.
“Their chant was ‘Give us power, water, gas, or quit the chair’. They burnt through all that fuel just for a long drive.”
He said political parties have the right to hold such programmes but questioned the cost of travelling to Chattogram.
He then turned to Shafiqur’s remarks, saying his own mayoral victory came after he challenged what he described as the forced denial of his election victory under the Awami League government.
Shahadat said he had taken the case to the election tribunal, which declared him mayor, followed by a High Court ruling, publication of the gazette and his swearing-in.
He said the verdict came after Aug 5, 2024, during the interim government’s tenure, when student leaders associated with the anti-discrimination movement were serving in different government positions.
"It was the verdict the public expected. I fought for three years. Filing that case cost me six months in jail. I faced repeated false cases against me, over 110 in the past 16 years."
Shahadat said he had nonetheless repeatedly offered, in the interest of the wider public and to institutionalise democracy, to hold elections whenever the local government ministry called them across Chattogram and the rest of Bangladesh.
"Everyone has the right to contest elections. We all want a democratic election together."
The mayor said he had maintained what he called “clean politics” since his student days and had fought for 17 years to institutionalise democracy.
Although the court ruling gives him a tenure until 2029, he said he would leave office on the day the Local Government Division announces the date for a Chattogram city election.
He said he would welcome a democratic election and urged anyone wishing to contest to take part.
