HAMTRAMCK — After nearly a full year of legal wrangling, former Hamtramck City Council member Muhith Mahmood is preparing to take over the mayor’s office from Adam Alharbi, following the counting of dozens of previously excluded absentee ballots and a court ruling affirming his eligibility to serve after examining his actual place of residence.

Under a court order requiring the counting of 37 absentee ballots found inside the Hamtramck City Clerk’s Office one day after polls closed in November 2025, the Bangladeshi American candidate’s total rose to 2,089 votes, compared with Alharbi’s 2,077. Alharbi has served as mayor since the beginning of this year based on the initial results, which showed him winning by 11 votes.

Alharbi had sought to disqualify his opponent by challenging the legality of his candidacy, arguing that Mahmood did not meet the residency requirement in Hamtramck’s charter. The charter requires candidates for public office in the city to have lived there for at least one year before the election. An investigation conducted by the city in cooperation with a private firm concluded that Mahmood actually lived with his wife in Troy rather than in Hamtramck, as he maintained.

Last week, Wayne County Circuit Court resolved the question of Mahmood’s residency. Judge Kathleen M. McCarthy ruled that the evidence was insufficient to substantiate the lawsuit’s allegations that Mahmood lived outside Hamtramck, finding that he met all charter residency requirements necessary to serve as mayor.

In her ruling, McCarthy said Mahmood had been determined to be the city’s rightful mayor and that, after hearing witness testimony and reviewing the evidence, the court found that he satisfied the residency requirement. She noted that his ownership of other homes in different cities, and his family’s primary residence in Troy, did not legally prevent him from holding office.

On Tuesday, Hamtramck issued a statement on its official Facebook page addressing questions surrounding the transfer of power. The city explained that Wayne County Circuit Court had formally affirmed that Mahmood met all residency requirements and was legally eligible to hold office. The court also directed the Wayne County Board of Canvassers to begin certifying the updated election results.

The final results of the Hamtramck mayoral election were certified Wednesday, clearing the way for Mahmood to become the first person of Bangladeshi descent to lead the city. Hamtramck is among Michigan’s most diverse immigrant communities, with Yemenis and Bangladeshis accounting for approximately two-thirds of its roughly 28,000 residents.

As Mahmood prepares to take the oath of office this coming Sunday, Mayor Pro Tem Abu Ahmed Musa has temporarily assumed the mayor’s duties under Hamtramck’s charter. The charter also provides that the mayor presides over the six-member City Council.

In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Mahmood announced that he had become “the official mayor of Hamtramck” after the court resolved a legal battle that had unfolded through numerous proceedings over nearly a full year. Speaking to local media outlets, he expressed optimism about the next chapter.

“I’m excited, and all I want now is to put the past behind us and move forward with positive energy,” he said.

For his part, Alharbi announced that he would continue his legal fight by challenging the absentee ballot count before the Wayne County Board of Canvassers. In a video recorded outside Mahmood’s home, he expressed shock at the court’s ruling in his opponent’s favor, despite testimony from investigators and witnesses who maintained that Mahmood did not live in Hamtramck. Those witnesses included Mahmood’s neighbor, who lives on the second floor of the house.

The Yemeni American mayor said his determination to challenge the ruling was rooted in his commitment to the city where he lives, rather than attachment to the office itself. He rejected the prospect of someone coming from another city, such as Troy, to lead Hamtramck merely in pursuit of office and prestige.

Alharbi also highlighted his administration’s accomplishments over the past 12 months. Those included securing $2.1 million from Wayne County in outstanding payments related to the county jail in Hamtramck, along with an annual allocation of $700,000, as well as efforts to open a new Wayne County Community College District location in the city. He said his administration could have accomplished more had it not been consumed by legal disputes.

Alharbi concluded that yielding to someone he said faced suspicions and investigations concerning election fraud would amount to abandoning the public trust and his responsibilities. He emphasized that his goal was to protect election integrity and ensure equal opportunities for future candidates from Hamtramck. He also urged supporters to remain steadfast and refuse to give up until the process was corrected and confidence in elections restored.