2023 Barishal City Corporation election

The 2023 Barishal City Corporation election was an election in Barisal, Bangladesh, held on 12 June 2023 to elect the next mayor & councillors of Barisal. A total of 276,298 people cast their votes in 894 rooms of 126 polling stations in Barishal City Corporation election.

Background
City corporations, or city councils, are the highest tier among the local councils of Bangladesh—usually composed of cities or metropolitan areas. Elections are held every five years to elect the mayors and ward councilors. Wards are moreover divided administrative parts of a city, and the number of wards in a city depends on the total administrative area. Ward councilors are elected for each ward by their ward residents. For every 3 wards, there is a reserved seat for women in the general council, they are also elected by the people. But the mayoral elections has been way more politically important and prioritized by both voters and political analysts.

The Barishal City Corporation (BCC) is one of the 12 City Corporations in Bangladesh. It comprises the metropolitan Barisal. It is further divided into 30 wards. The body was known as Barisal Municipality previously, until it obtained the city corporation status by a ministry of local government declaration on 25 July 2002.

Previous election
In the last election, Serniabat Sadiq Abdullah was elected as mayor of the Barisal City Corporation in 2018 city election. The election was boycotted by the candidates of Communist Party of Bangladesh and Islami Andolon Bangladesh who alleged vote rigging.

Schedule
The schedule of the election was announced by the Election Commission of Bangladesh on 29 March 2023.

Mayoral election
A total of 7 candidates were contested for the mayoral post.

Council election
Total of 116 and 42 were contested for 30 general and 10 reserved (women) seats in the city council, respectively. Symbols have been distributed to 115 out of 116 vying for the posts of councillors of 30 wards. As there is one candidate in ward-7, no symbol has been allotted.

Election boycott
In a press conference on 26 April 2023, BaSad leader Manisha Chakraborty boycotted the upcoming city election.

Violence
Islami Andolan Bangladesh brought out a march by its followers with sticks and rods, which was widely criticized on social media.

Islami Andolan candidate Syed Faizul Karim alleged that some 30–40 boat symbol supporters attacked them with sticks near Hatim Ali College after they left Sabera Khatun Girls' Secondary School polling centre.

In a press briefing at the Nirbachan Bhaban on election day afternoon, Election Commissioner Ahsan Habib Khan assured that orders have already been issued to apprehend those involved in the assault on Faizul.

Mayoral election
Abul Khair Abdullah was elected as mayor of the Barishal City Corporation by defeating Islami Andolan candidate Syed Faizul Karim.

Aftermath
Islami Andolan Bangladesh has rejected the results of Barishal and Khulna City Corporation elections over alleged irregularities and assault on a candidate. They also boycotted the upcoming city elections in Rajshahi and Sylhet.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir criticizes attack on Islami Andolan candidate Syed Faizul Karim during elections and said it has been proved once again that credible elections are never possible under the current illegal government. Fakhrul strongly denounced the incident and blamed the ruling party cadres for it.

In a press briefing, Jatiya Party candidate Iqbal Hossain Taposh commented that BNP's decision to boycott election was right and also condemned the attack on the mayoral candidate of the Islami Andolan and demanded speedy justice.