Taufiq Hossain Mobin and Shahedul Islam
Islami Chhatra Shibir, the student wing of rightist political party Jamaat-e-Islami, is set for a clean sweep in the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) and hall union elections for the first time in independent Bangladesh.
Shibir-backed candidates were leading by a big margin in most of the central and hall union posts in the elections that were marred by widespread allegations of irregularities and vote rigging. Many voters and candidates couldn’t believe the outcome of the elections.
Shibir’s archrival JCD and other candidates boycotted the results, terming the elections manipulated and farcical.
Sadik Kayem and SM Forhad, the vice-president (VP) and general secretary (GS) candidates respectively from Shibir panel are much ahead of their closest rivals from Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), left-leaning Protirodh Porshad panel, Umama Fatema-led Independent United Students panel and Bagchas-backed Students Against Discrimination.
Till filing of this report at 4:10am, Kayem bagged 7842 votes while his rival JCD’s Abidul Islam Khan secured 3652 votes in the central VP post. Shibir’s Forhad got 6252 votes while his rival Sheikh Tanvir Bari Hamim managed 2576 votes in GS post.
Activities of Shibir were banned on the university campus since 1990 but it emerged through the 2024 July uprising that toppled prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Both Sadik and Forhad were engaged in student politics in guise of Bangladesh Chhatra League activists.
The win is considered as a big setback to the secular political forces in Bangladesh.
Earlier elections to DUCSU and all 18 hall units began in a festive and peaceful manner at 8:00am and concluded at 4:00pm without any major occurrence. Enthusiastic voters, including a significant number of females, lined up to cast their votes about an hour before the voting began, amid tight security.
A total of 471 aspirants, divided into 10 panels formed by the student wings of different political parties and independent candidates, contested for 28 posts in Ducsu, while 1,035 candidates vied for 13 posts in each of the 18 residential hall units.
More than 78 percent of students cast their votes on a six-page OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) ballot paper to elect their representatives in Ducsu and hall unions.
After voting ended, JCD lodged formal complaints with the university Vice-Chancellor, Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan, about vote rigging, while an independent VP candidate boycotted the election, bringing various allegations, including vote rigging.
Independent VP candidate Tammina Akter boycotted the election halfway through, alleging manipulation in the voting procedure and the capturing of polling centres.
She accused Islami Chhatra Shibir supporters of filling out ballots in advance in favour of their candidate and using various tactics to manipulate the voting process to ensure victory for their candidates.
“I am boycotting this fraudulent election. I am calling for a judicial inquiry into the matter,” she told journalists, expressing no confidence in the ‘biased vice-chancellor and those involved in the election’. She also demanded their resignation.
In their complaints to the VC, JCD alleged that a ‘large number of Jamaat-Shibir people’ were present at all the entrances of the university campus. They accused ‘top DU officials of being linked with Jamaat’.
One of the major allegations made by JCD was the deletion of CCTV footage from a female polling booth at TSC, where a voter complained of receiving two ballot papers with tick marks casting votes for the Shibir-backed VP candidate Sadik Kayem and general secretary (GS) candidate SM Forhad.
In another major incident, Sadik entered a vote-counting centre at Dhaka University Club, which his rivals described as a violation of the electoral code of conduct. This caused widespread commotion among other candidates.
Although Kayem was allowed to enter the vote counting centre, JCD-backed VP candidate Abidul Islam Khan was denied entry into the TSC counting centre. Protesting this ‘favouritism by the university authorities’, JCD leaders and activists organised a procession there.
The university administration dismissed all the allegations. However, they admitted that there were some irregularities, which they termed as minor.
Speaking to reporters at the Senate Building centre, VC Niaz said that more than 70 percent of the total votes were cast.
When asked about giving two ballots to one voter at Curzon Hall, he called it a minor error.
“We have taken immediate action for it. However, we will conduct a thorough investigation in this regard, and if anyone is found involved, appropriate measures will be taken,” he said.
After voting, the returning officer told reporters that, after the initial count, the voter turnout was 80 percent at Curzon Hall, 69 percent at TSC, 67 percent at the Dhaka University Club, 84-85 percent at the Udayan School, 65 percent at the Department of Geology, and 65 percent at the University Laboratory centre.
At a briefing after the voting, JCD-nominated VP candidate Abidul accused the DU administration of siding with Jamaat-backed student wing Shibir, as they received allegations of vote rigging at different halls.
“I went to Amar Ekushey Hall and found evidence of vote rigging there. I also spoke with the students at Ruquiyah Hall, and they confirmed that tampering had occurred. This is something we did not expect at all,” he said.
“We do not know how many ballots have been pre-marked and stored in the ballot boxes beforehand,” he added.
Denying the allegation, the vice-chancellor, in his second briefing, rejected the claim of affiliation with Jamaat or any political organisations.
There were also accusations of violations of the electoral code of conduct from at least four VP and GS candidates from different panels.
At 11:50am, VP candidate Abdul Qader and GS candidate Abu Baker Majumdar complained about the alleged ‘party influence’ by Chhatra Dal and Shibir candidates, accusing them of violating the code of conduct, while the administration remained silent.
They also claimed there were incidents of ‘vote rigging.’
Abu Baker Majumdar stated that these allegations had been orally communicated to the election commission of the university.
Responding to the allegation, Chhatra Dal VP candidate Abidul termed the allegations “baseless” and accused the opposition of stirring up false claims.
Abidul claimed, “A student from Ruquiyah Hall found that her vote had already been cast for Sadik Kayem and SM Forhad at the TSC centre.”
Similar complaints were raised by Abdul Qader and Abu Baker Majumdar about pre-cast votes.
Abdul Qader further mentioned, “At Ekushey Hall, a polling officer was caught while casting votes. At Ruquiyah Hall, a student’s vote was cast earlier.”
SM Forhad, GS candidate from the Shibir panel, also raised concerns about vote rigging, accusing the administration of trying to cover up incidents to avoid scrutiny.
Independent VP candidate Umama Fatema shared leaflets on Facebook, which included lists of student candidates supported by Chhatra Shibir’s alliance, claiming the lists were being distributed near voting booths.
The Ducsu elections took place at a time when there was no dominance by any student organisation on the campus.
The Ducsu polls were a litmus test for the interim government, as such elections were held under this government just ahead of the upcoming 13th parliamentary elections slated for February next year.
The Ducsu elections follow the 1973 Dhaka University Ordinance, which mandates annual Ducsu and hall union elections.
Over its century-long history, Dhaka University has held 38 student union elections, with this being the ninth in 54 years since the country’s independence.
