Cucsu polls held amid boycott, accusation of 'irregularities'
The Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel accused Chhatra Dal of bringing outsiders to the campus to create gatherings of outsiders.
Chittagong University Central Students' Union (Cucsu) and hall union elections were held today (15 October) amid election boycott by a panel, citing widespread irregularities and alleged mismanagement in the polls.
The Chhatra Dal-backed panel raised allegations of widespread irregularities and bias by the Election Commission.
At a press conference held at 7pm, student leaders from the panel detailed their concerns, claiming that although voting ended at 4pm, numerous issues had marred the process.
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The panel also alleged that "there were eight complaints of code-of-conduct violations against one panel, but the election commission took no action. They remained silent to favour a particular group. This administration has a pro-Jamaat stance, and the Election Commission is spineless."
Ayubur Rahman Taufiq, the panel's candidate for assistant general secretary (AGS), said that outsiders had been present near the campus. "At the Arts Faculty polling station, the LED board was not functioning. When we protested these issues, we faced attacks," he said.
The Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel accused Chhatra Dal of bringing outsiders to the campus to create gatherings of outsiders. VP candidate Ibrahim Hossain Rony claimed that the administration failed to prevent their entry.
Speaking at a press conference in front of the Cucsu building, he said that in the afternoon, the opposing panel allegedly tried to disrupt the electoral environment at the BBA Faculty polling station.
He further alleged that at the IT building, 10 ballot boxes were submitted without officer signatures, and the responsible officials must be held accountable.
Speaking to TBS over the phone last night, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) Professor Kamal Uddin said the vote counting was underway.
"The vote counting is ongoing in the presence of the candidates' polling agents. We expect to start releasing hall-wise results shortly, and we are hopeful that the final results will be announced centrally by tonight," he said.
Voting for the long-awaited Cucsu election began at 9am amid enthusiasm and a festive atmosphere and continued until 4pm for voters who were still in line.
Apart from a few stray incidents, the voting was conducted peacefully, said Professor Saidur Rahman Chowdhury, a member of the Election Commission and Head of the IT Cell.
"The vote counting may take 7 to 8 hours, and the formal announcement of results will be made on Thursday," he added.
The university authorities had taken extensive security measures throughout the day to ensure a fair and smooth election process.
Professor Kamal Uddin said, "There will be no unnecessary delay in vote counting. Each presiding officer has a photo-based voter list to verify identities, leaving no room for fraudulent voting. We have not received any formal complaints."
Voting took place in five faculties with 15 centres designated for the university's 15 residential halls. A total of 689 booths were set up across 60 rooms to facilitate the process. The entire process was displayed live on 14 LED screens across the campus.
Ballots were cast on paper, but counting was carried out using Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) machines to ensure accuracy and efficiency.
According to the Election Commission, a total of 908 candidates contested the elections – 415 for central positions, representing 13 panels and independent candidates, and 493 for hall and hostel councils.
