A. B. M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury - 2005 Mayoral Election

2005 Mayoral Election

In the whirlwind of Bangladeshi politics, politicians are not known for repeated electoral victory and increased public support; Mohiuddin was an anomaly in that respect. Not only did he win the mayoral race three times, he increased his winning margin in the third election. The election was cited as an example of "people power" in the Bangladeshi national media.

On election night, thousands of people in Chittagong came out to the streets and stood vigil at the election result declaration centre when rumours of "high-level" pressure to declare Mohiuddin's opponent the winner spread. Soon after voting stopped in the afternoon, the people come out en masse to protect their mandate in a demonstration of unity. Large groups walked to the city centre in support of Mohiuddin, since cars and public transport were banned during the evening.

There was widespread fear that large-scale violence would be triggered, as army convoys and police battalions were deployed in the city to impose a curfew. However, despite partisan pressure to halt the mass gathering, the security forces largely remained on the sidelines.

At about six am, after an overnight peaceful sit-in, election officials were forced to declare Mohiuddin the winner and disclose his winning margin. Election observers noted that if public pressure did not increase overnight, there was a possibility that the election results would have been manipulated by the ruling party.

Analysts noted that Mohiuddin's history of populism resulted in his cross-party support and his popularity in Chittagong; this has often put him at loggerheads with his own party leadership.