Hasina picks Ashraf’s sister Syeda Zakia Noor for Kishoreganj, Atiqul for Dhaka North

The Awami League has chosen businessman Atiqul Islam for the Dhaka North City Corporation mayoral by-election and picked the late Syed Ashraful Islam’s sister Syeda Zakia Noor to run for the Kishoreganj-1 seat.

The decision came from a meeting of the party’s nomination committees chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Ganabhaban, said Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader.

The DNCC by-polls and the election of councillors in the extended parts of the Dhaka North and South city corporations will be held on Feb 28.

The polls for the Kishoreganj-1 seat will also be held on the same day, according to the schedule announced by the Election Commission.

The Kishoreganj-1 parliamentary constituency fell vacant after the death of former Awami League general secretary and Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraf.

The son of Syed Nazrul Islam, the acting president of Bangladesh during the Liberation War, Syed Ashraf served five consecutive terms as MP for this constituency.

The post of DNCC mayor has been vacant since November 2017 following the death of Annisul Huq.

The EC had also announced the election schedule for the DNCC mayoral by-polls and elections to the 36 new wards of the two city corporations last year.

But the High Court halted the elections after two union council chairmen challenged the decision to add their unions to the city corporation as wards.

The rule was later scrapped by the High Court after the petitioners’ lawyer did not show up in court on Jan 16.

Garment businessman Atiqul Islam  was also the Awami League's choice for the mayoral by-election after the election schedule was announced last year.