Abdur Rashid Jitu, the newly elected Vice President (VP) of Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU), has pledged to prioritise addressing students’ demands above all else.
He stated, “I will always strive to work, honoring the trust the students have placed in me, by giving utmost importance to their demands. I have never compromised on the rights of the university’s students, and I never will in the future.”
He made these remarks in an immediate reaction after the final results were announced by the Election Commission on Saturday evening.
In response to a question, Abdur Rashid Jitu said, “Those who boycotted the vote are also students of this university. My first task is to build an inclusive university that includes everyone, regardless of party or opinion. A place where everyone’s thoughts will be valued, and together we will build the future new Jahangirnagar University (JU).”
Regarding the election process, Jitu said, “The Election Commission carried out its duties with sincerity to ensure the election was conducted 100% fairly. The spontaneous participation of students led to a fair election, although there were some instances of mismanagement and errors.”
He added, “Despite everything, organising this election after 33 years was the biggest challenge for the administration. The university administration and the Election Commission, with 100% sincerity and dedication, have delivered a free, fair, and acceptable election. Those who withdrew from the election did so fearing a crushing defeat.”
Jitu was vocal from the beginning of the July mass uprising. He was at the forefront of all logical movements for students’ interests after the uprising. Essentially, his popularity spread across the JU campus starting from the July movement.
Before the quota reform movement, Jitu was involved in Chhatra League politics, but during the movement, he was the first to be assaulted and injured by Chhatra League members. Later, when Arif Sohail was detained, he led the JU movement until August 5 as the “First Man” under the banner of the Anti-Discrimination Movement.
He then resigned from the coordinator position of the Anti-Discrimination Movement and initiated a platform called “Mass Uprising Protection Movement.” Through this platform, he led various programmes on campus.
Election after 33 years
Voting took place from 9am to 5pm last Thursday. A total of 11,747 voters were eligible to vote in the JUCSU election. 178 candidates contested for the posts. Among them, nine ran for the VP post, nine for the GS post, six for the post of Joint General Secretary (Female), and ten for the post of Joint General Secretary (Male).
Voting was held across 224 booths in the university’s 21 halls. This includes 10 female student halls and 11 male student halls. One Returning Officer, 67 Polling Officers, and 67 Assistant Polling Officers carried out duties at each centre.
Voters cast their votes on a total of 40 ballots for both the central and hall union elections. Approximately 1,200 police members were deployed to ensure security.
In this election, four panels of progressive students have boycotted the vote and demanded a re-election, alleging widespread irregularities.
