The long-awaited Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) and Hall Union elections were held after 33 years, with a voter turnout of approximately 67 per cent.
Professor Mohammad Mafruhi Sattar, a member of the JUCSU Election Commission, confirmed this information on Thursday night.
Voting took place from 9:00am to 5:00pm at 224 booths in 21 university halls with a notable participation of student voters in the elections. Out of 11,747 eligible voters, nearly 67 per cent cast their ballots.
The campus atmosphere was festive from the morning of the election day, with returning officers, polling officers, and assistant polling officers performing their duties at each hall.
To ensure election security, approximately 1,200 police officers were deployed, maintaining a controlled environment throughout the day.
A total of 178 candidates competed for various positions, including 9 for Vice-President (VP), 9 for General Secretary (GS), 6 for Joint General Secretary (Women), and 10 for Joint General Secretary (Men).
In addition, several organisational and independent panels fielded candidates.
In Al Beruni Hall, 125 out of 211 voters cast their ballots. In Kamal Uddin Hall, 216 out of 341 voters participated. At Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall, 224 votes were cast out of 303.
Female students were also actively involved in the voting process. In Rokeya Hall, 680 out of 957 voters cast their ballots, and in Fazilatunnesa Hall, 489 out of 809 voters participated.
The highest turnout was recorded at Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Hall, where 752 out of 914 voters voted. Across the 21 halls, around two-thirds of eligible students participated in the election.
However, allegations of irregularities led Tanzila Hossain Boishakhi, the GS candidate supported by Chhatra Dal, to announce a boycott of the election. Soon after, Arifulah Adib, the VP candidate from the “Shomonnito Shikkarthi Jote” panel supported by the Islamic Chhatra Shibir, claimed that Chhatra Dal had boycotted the election after realizing their imminent defeat.
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and several other panels, including “Shampreetir Oikya”, “Shongshoptok Parshad”, “Swatantra Ongiikar Parishad”, and Socialist Students’ Front, also raised widespread allegations of rigging and demanded a re-election.
Several independent candidates expressed solidarity with their stance, and the Student Union (one faction) supported the “Shampreetir Oikya” panel’s decision to express no confidence in the election.
Meanwhile, Professor Rashidul Alam, secretary of the Election Commission, told reporters that due to the manual counting of votes, it could take until Friday afternoon to announce the results.
