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.[1] 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.[2][3]

2023 Dhaka-17 by-election
17 July 2023
Dhaka-17 Jatiya Sangsad constituency
Registered325,205
Turnout11.51% (Decrease54.3 pp)
 
Nominee Mohammad A. Arafat Ashraful Alom
Party AL Independent
Popular vote 28,816 5,609
Percentage 77.8% 15.1%
Dhaka-17 constituency within Dhaka District
MP before election

Akbar Hossain Pathan Farooque
AL

 Elected MP

Mohammad A. Arafat
AL

This constituency consists of wards 15, 18, 19 and 20 of Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka Cantonment area.[4] [5] Total eligible voters were 325,205 in this election.

Candidates

A total of 8 candidates were contested for the constituency.

Name Election Symbol   Party Ref.
Mohammad A. Arafat Nouka (Boat) Bangladesh Awami League [6]
Hero Alom Ektara Independent
Sikder Anisur Rahman Langol (Plough) Jatiya Party (Ershad)
Md Rashidul Hasan Golap ful (Rose) Zaker Party
Sheikh Habibur Rahman Sonali Aash (Golden fibre) Grassroots BNP
Rezaul Islam Swapan Dab (Green Coconut) Bangladesh Congress
Mohammad Akhter Hossain Chari Bangladesh Sanskritik Muktijot
Tarikul Islam Bhuiyan Truck Independent

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.[7]

Result of the by-election

Mohammad A. Arafat was elected as member of Parliament by defeating Independent candidate Hero Alom.[8]

2023 Dhaka-17 by-election result[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
AL Mohammad A. Arafat 28,816 77.80 N/A
Independent Ashraful Alom 5,609 15.14 N/A
JP(E) Sikdar Anisur Rahman 1,328 N/A
Zaker Party Md Rashidul Hasan 923 N/A
Grassroots BNP Sheikh Habibur Rahman 202 N/A
Bangladesh Sankritik Muktijot Md Akhtar Hossain 64 N/A
Independent Md Tariqul Islam Bhuiyan 52 N/A
BCP Rezaul Islam Swapan 43 N/A
Majority
Turnout 37,037 11.51
Registered electors 325,205
AL hold

Reactions

International

The United Nations high commission of Bangladesh showed their concerns over the actions and requested for his protection.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Actor Farooque passes away". Dhaka Tribune. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  2. "Arafat wins Dhaka-17 by-election". The Daily Star. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. "Dhaka-17 by-polls: Arafat wins by huge margin amid low turnout". Dhaka Tribune. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  4. "Constituency Maps of Bangladesh" (PDF). Bangladesh Election Commission. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  5. "Delimitation of Constituencies" (PDF). Bangladesh Election Commission (in Bengali). 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  6. "Dhaka-17 by-polls: Hero Alom gets symbol, Tariqul gets back candidature". Dhaka Tribune. 26 June 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  7. "Watch: Shocking video of Hero Alom assaulted by mob goes viral, the actor-social media influencer hospitalized". The Times of India. 2023-07-18. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
  8. "Awami League's Arafat wins Dhaka-17 by-election, turnout only 11.5%". Bdnews24.com. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  9. "মোট ভোটার সোয়া ৩ লাখ, আরাফাত জিতলেন ২৮৮১৬ ভোট পেয়ে". The Daily Star (in Bengali). 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. "Awami League candidate Arafat wins Dhaka-17 by-polls". Prothom Alo. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. "Gwen Lewis on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-07-18.
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