Bangladeshi American Mohammed Hassan, who was hoping to be the first Muslim Mayor of Hamtramck, has lost to three-time incumbent Mayor Karen Majewski by more than 700 votes.

The margin of defeat has surprised many as in the last election in 2013; Mayor Majewski had won by just 98 votes.

On Tuesday, she bagged 1960 votes while Mr. Hassan managed to get 1231. Hamtramck, a small town near Detroit in Michigan, is the first Muslim majority council in the United States with nearly 11,000 registered voters but the voter turnout has for many decades been fairly low. Nearly 45% of Hamtramck residents are immigrants and majority of those are from Yemen and Bangladesh.

Council member Anam Miah, who is also from Bangladesh, said he was “disappointed” by the outcome because he felt “it was time for Hamtramck to try out a new face and new vision.”

Talking to Bangla Tribune, Mr. Miah said: “It’s too early to say why he lost but the divisions within the Bangladeshi community definitely played a significant role.”

He said, “As a community, we really need to sit down and analyze. I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding within the community.”   

Last week, Mr. Hassan had expressed his concern that 40% of Bangladeshis may not vote for him as “political loyalties carried over from Bangladesh are playing out in Hamtramck politics”.

He had said that many in the Bangladeshi community are supporters of BNP and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Party and they perceived him as an Awami League supporter.

Another council member Saad Almasmari said it was never going to be easy for Mr. Hassan but the margin of defeat had surprised him.

“It’s clear that the white votes consolidated in favour of Mayor Majewski, while the Bangladeshi and Yemeni votes were divided,” said Mr. Almasmari, who is of Yemeni descent.

Mayor Majewski, who is of Polish descent, was the first woman to be elected the Mayor of Hamtramck in 2005. She was re-elected in 2009, 2013 and now in 2017.

Talking to the local media she said: "This is fantastic."

She said. "I'm really gratified and pleased that Hamtramck residents placed their confidence in me for another term. I'm especially excited about the council members who won this time. I'm looking forward to working with them. We're going to have a great council, with a lot of positive movement for Hamtramck."

 Mr. Hassan did not return calls on Tuesday evening.