Tabith Awal and Ishraque Hossain will contest as BNP’s mayoral runners in Dhaka north and south city corporation elections respectively scheduled to be held on January 30.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced their names at a press conference at the party’s Chairperson Khaleda Zia’s Gulshan office in Dhaka this evening.

Tabith Awal is a member of the party’s national executive committee while Ishraque Hossain is the elder son of recently late BNP vice chairman Sadeque Hossain Khoka who was the last mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation.

At the press conference, Fakhrul said Tabith Awal, a son of BNP Vice Chairman Abdul Awal Mintu, has already proved his capability participating in several anti-government movements while Ishraque remains present in the movements.

Responding to a query, Fakhrul said, “I have no any interest of speaking anything about the Election Commission. We belong to a democratic party and thus we take part in the election,” he added.

Voting at all centres of the two city corporations will be held with electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The last date for submitting nomination papers is December 31 and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures is January 9.

The EC will scrutinise nomination papers on January 2.

According to the EC, the two city corporations have over 54.02 lakh voters -- 30.35 lakh in DNCC and 23.67 lakh in DSCC -- to cast their votes in the elections.

Along with electing the mayors, DNCC voters will also elect 54 ward councillors and 18 reserved women councillors while DSCC voters will elect 75 ward councillors and 25 reserved women councillors.