A total of 20 candidates have withdrawn their nominations from the upcoming Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (Cucsu) and hall union elections.
Of them, 11 were contesting for Cucsu posts and nine for hall unions.
In addition, the university’s election commission has canceled the nominations of four candidates due to errors in their personal information, including name mismatches, and failure to submit required documents such as the drug test or dope test report.
Member Secretary of the Election Commission, Professor Dr AKM Ariful Haque, confirmed the information at 4pm on Wednesday. He explained that the disqualifications were due to discrepancies such as incorrect name or ID details and non-submission of mandatory reports, like the dope test result.
Ariful Haque also mentioned that 20 candidates had voluntarily withdrawn their nominations, adding that the commission had not yet received the full dope test reports. If any candidate’s test results turn out to be positive after the final list is published, their candidacy will also be canceled.
In the Cucsu election, nominations were withdrawn for the following posts — one candidate of Vice President, one candidate of Law and Human Rights secretary, one of Research and Innovation secretary, one of Joint General Secretary, two of Communication and Accommodation secretary, one of Assistant Sports and Physical Education, two of Assistant Literature, Culture, and Publications secretary and two of Health Affairs secretary.
In the hall union election nine candidates withdraw their nominations. Of them, two candidates of Vice President post, two of Joint General Secretary, one of executive member post, one of Health Affairs Secretary, one of Social Service secretary, one candidate of Environment and Human Rights Secretary, one candidate of Literature, Culture, and Publications secretary, one candidate Science, Research, and IT Secretary.
Additionally, four candidates were disqualified from the hall union election for the posts – Assistant General Secretary (AGS) (one candidate), Assistant Sports Secretary (one candidate), and Library Secretary (two candidates).
Earlier, on Tuesday, the commission rescheduled the Cucsu and hall union elections for 15 October instead of 12 October, in response to candidate demands. As a result, classes and exams scheduled for 15 and 16 October will be postponed.
After an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the Cucsu Election Commissioner, Professor Dr AKM Ariful Haque Siddique, announced that exams would be postponed for a week. This decision sparked frustration among students, prompting the university administration to reconsider. Following student protests, the administration revised its decision and confirmed that exams would only be postponed for two days.
While the final date for nomination withdrawal was originally set for Tuesday, it was extended to Wednesday to accommodate additional withdrawals. The final list of candidates will be released on Thursday.
A total of 931 nomination papers were submitted for the Cucsu and hall union elections this year.
