After a long wait and several changes of date, the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (Jnucsu) and hall students’ union elections are finally being held.
The students were seen across the campus and polling centers, though many felt that the repeated postponements had dampened the festive atmosphere.
According to the previous announcement, voting was scheduled to begin at 8:30am, but in many centers it started at 9am on Tuesday.
The voting will continue without any break until 3pm, after which counting will begin using the OMR system.
Rois Uddin, Syndicate member and president of Teachers’ Association, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “As per the schedule, voting was scheduled to begin at 9am, and everything is proceeding accordingly.” However, the half-hour delay sparked dissatisfaction among some students.
Rafid Ahmed, a student of the Mathematics Department, told TIMES, “After the election was cancelled once, the enthusiasm has definitely decreased. Still, we hope everyone will set aside party interests and work for the genuine development of Jagannath University.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by Jabir Khan, a candidate from the Oikyoboddho Jobian panel. He said, “The spontaneous atmosphere of before is no longer there.
On 30 December, there was huge presence of the students and interest, but today it is noticeably less. The administration is responsible, because they have undermined students’ enthusiasm by repeatedly changing the polls date.
Meanwhile, to avoid any untoward incidents, the university administration and law enforcement agencies are on high alert. Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members have been deployed on campus and in surrounding areas. Students are casting their votes under tight security.
According to JnU Election Commission, 38 polling centres have been prepared for the central union and one for the hall union. To manage the crowd, one secret booth has been arranged for every 100 voters. To ensure transparency, six OMR (Optical Mark Reader) machines will be used for vote counting.
The JnU Election Commissioner Professor Mostafa Hasan said, “We have completed all preparations for a fair and impartial election. Ballot papers were sent under strict security early Tuesday morning. With the digital OMR system, accurate results can be announced in the shortest possible time.”
BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil, assistant general secretary candidate of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, said that significant enthusiasm was observed among students this time.
He said, “For a long time, young people were deprived of the opportunity to exercise their voting rights. Through the Jnucsu election, students expect solutions to the housing crisis, maintenance of quality standards, and greater focus on research.”
He added that the administration’s unilateral decision to postpone the election once had created doubts among students, leaving many angry. As a result, turnout this time appears comparatively lower.
This election had already been postponed twice. Most recently, it was scheduled for 30 December, but on that morning, following the death of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, an emergency syndicate meeting was called and the election was suspended.
However, facing intense student protests, the university authorities were forced to reconvene and announce 6 January as the new date.
