Dhaka, May 8 -- Lutfur Rahman, the controversial local government leader who formed a new party called Aspire after leaving Labour, has won re-election as the executive mayor of Tower Hamlets at the heart of East London.

Nine candidates contested the mayoral race for the London borough, including incumbent.

Lutfur retained his position, securing 38.8 percent of the vote.

The position of mayor of Tower Hamlets became an executive role with political powers in 2010, after previously being largely ceremonial.

Lutfur was removed from office in 2015 after a specialist court found him guilty of vote-rigging, vote-buying, and religious intimidation, according to a report by The Guardian.

However, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service...