2021 Chattogram City Corporation election


The 2021 Chattogram City Corporation election was a local government election in the city of Chattogram, Bangladesh, held on 27 January 2021 to elect the Mayor of Chittagong and the Chittagong City Council. This election was marred by violence and it was not seen as a free, fair and credible election. Later in 2024, after ruling Awami League regime fell, vote rigging by Awami League was confirmed in this election.

Background

The Chattogram City Corporation is the governing body responsible for the administration of Chattogram, the second-largest city in Bangladesh. The term of the previous mayor, A. J. M. Nasir Uddin, elected in 2015, ended in 2020. The election was originally scheduled to take place in March 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Campaign

The 2021 Chattogram City Corporation election featured major political parties focusing on urban governance, port-city infrastructure, and long-standing civic problems.
Key themes included waterlogging, traffic congestion, corruption allegations, waste management, and improvement of basic municipal services.

Awami League

The ruling Bangladesh Awami League nominated Rezaul Karim Chowdhury as its mayoral candidate.
His campaign highlighted commitments to resolving the chronic waterlogging problem through canal restoration projects, expansion of drainage networks, and coordination with the Chittagong Development Authority.
Rezaul also pledged improved road repairs, digitalization of civic services, efficient waste collection, and strong measures to curb corruption in municipal contracting.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party nominated Dr. Shahadat Hossain as its mayoral candidate.
Shahadat’s campaign emphasized mismanagement, irregularities, and corruption allegations within the previous CCC administration.
He promised transparent city governance, modern waste-management systems, proper maintenance of roads and footpaths, and solutions to traffic congestion and disorderly urban growth.
His manifesto also focused on public health, dengue prevention, clean water supply, and restoring public trust in municipal operations.

Other issues

Residents across Chattogram raised a number of recurring concerns, including:
  • severe waterlogging during monsoon due to clogged drains and encroached canals
  • chronic traffic congestion in key commercial corridors
  • irregular waste collection and lack of modern disposal facilities
  • damaged roads, footpaths, and poor street lighting in many wards
  • environmental degradation, hill-cutting, and loss of open spaces
  • lack of coordination between CCC, CDA, and WDB, causing delays in major projects

Election environment

Voting was held using Electronic Voting Machines in all centers.
National observers noted a generally peaceful environment, although turnout remained modest.
Public concerns over service delivery, transparency, and infrastructure sustainability heavily shaped the overall campaign narrative.

Candidates

The election was mainly contested between candidates of the two major political parties in Bangladesh:
Other minor candidates from smaller parties and independent candidates also participated.

Electoral system

The election was conducted using electronic voting machines in all 735 polling stations in the city. Around 1.92 million voters were registered to cast their vote. This was one of the first large-scale uses of EVMs in local elections in Bangladesh, a move that was both praised and criticized by various political parties.
The corporation area is divided into 41 wards. The corporation elects:Mayor, directly elected by the voters of Chattogram.41 Ward Councillors, one from each ward, elected directly.14 Reserved Women Councillors, elected from groups of three wards.

Mayoral election results

The results were announced later in the evening on 27 January 2021. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, the Awami League candidate, won the mayoral race by a wide margin, receiving approximately 369,248 votes, while Shahadat Hossain of the BNP garnered 52,489 votes.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury succeeded A. J. M. Nasir Uddin as mayor of Chattogram. The Awami League also secured the majority of the councilor positions in the 41 wards of the Chattogram City Corporation.

Violence

The election day was marked by reports of violence in multiple wards across the city. Several clashes were reported between supporters of the ruling Awami League and the opposition BNP. In one such incident, a polling agent of a BNP-backed councilor candidate was killed, prompting further criticism of the law enforcement agencies and the fairness of the electoral process.
According to local media reports, around 20 people were injured in election-related violence, and allegations of vote rigging and irregularities were rampant. Despite these issues, the Election Commission of Bangladesh declared the election successful and largely peaceful.

Aftermath and Reactions

After the Chattogram City Corporation Election of 2021, reactions were deeply divided. The ruling party, the Awami League, celebrated the victory of their candidate, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury. They claimed that the election had been conducted fairly and that the result represented the will of the people of Chattogram. Rezaul Karim, in his post-election statements, promised to continue the development projects started by the previous mayor, A. J. M. Nasir Uddin.
On the other hand, the opposition, particularly the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, rejected the election results outright. They accused the Awami League of voter suppression, vote rigging, and using law enforcement to intimidate opposition supporters. Shahadat Hossain, the BNP candidate, demanded an investigation into the alleged irregularities and called for the election results to be annulled. The BNP also organized protests, claiming that the use of electronic voting machines had made it easier to manipulate the results in favor of the ruling party. Shahadat Hossain's call for investigation was rejected and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was sworn in as the 6th Mayor of Chattogram City Corporation on 11 February 2021. Rezaul Karim couldn't fulfill his term as Sheikh Hasina's regime fell in 2024 amid mass protests. On 19 August, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, along with the mayors of other city corporations, was removed from his position and replaced by the Divisional Commissioners.