2023 Dhaka-17 by-election

A by-election for the Bangladesh parliamentary constituency of Dhaka-17 was held on 17 July 2023, following the death of incumbent member of Parliament Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque. The Awami League nominated Mohammad A. Arafat, an academic and a political advocate of the Awami League, to replace Farooque; he won the by-election with more than 77 percent of the vote, a landslide majority.

This constituency consists of wards 15, 18, 19 and 20 of Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka Cantonment area. Total eligible voters were 325,205 in this election.

Candidates
A total of 8 candidates were contested for the constituency.

Incidents
On July 17, 2023, Independent candidate Alom was assaulted by political opponents near a polling center at the Banani Bidyaniketan School and College. The incident occurred at around 3:20 p.m. while Alom was visiting the polling center. According to reports, Alom was taking photos with his fans on the playground of the school when he was approached by a group of people who told him that it was not a place to shoot TikTok videos. The group then began to physically assault Alom, dragging him out of the building after he had entered the corridor. Alom was able to escape in a car. An officer at the scene said that Alom had been accompanied by around 50-60 people, and that law enforcement personnel had ejected them from the polling center to maintain order. The officer also said that the assault on the independent candidate took place outside the polling center premises.

The officer added that the police would collect video footage of the incident and investigate. He said that those responsible for the assault would be brought to justice.

Result of the by-election
Mohammad A. Arafat was elected as member of Parliament by defeating Independent candidate Hero Alom.

International
The United Nations high commission of Bangladesh showed their concerns over the actions and requested for his protection.