The Islami Chhatra Shibir was in the lead, until submission of this report at 3:30am, in the elections to the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union and hall unions marked by allegations of irregularities.
According to the results of three polling stations, Shibir’s vice-president candidate Abu Sadik Kayem bagged 4,835 votes against his nearest contestant Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal’s Abidul Islam Khan, who got 1,338 votes.
For the post of general secretary, Shibir’s SM Farhad polled 3,606 votes while his nearest candidate JCD’s Shaikh Tanvir Baree Hamim got 837 votes.
For the post of assistant general secretary, Shibir’s Md Mohiuddin Khan bagged 4,110 votes while his nearest candidate JCD’s Tanvir Al Hadi Mayed polled 861 votes.
The data were prepared on votes cast at three polling stations — Curzon Hall, University Laboratory School and College and Geology Department.
The elections to the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union and hall unions were held on Tuesday in a largely peaceful environment amid allegations of ballot tampering and violation of the code of conduct by the candidates and their supporters.
The environment suddenly turned tense after 4:00pm when the vote counting was in progress at eight polling centres.
A huge number of supporters of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir started to gather at several entry points of the university campus in the evening.
After the polls that continued from 8:00am to 4:00pm on the campus, chief returning officer Professor Md Jasim Uddin said that the polls saw a voter turnout of 78.33 per cent of the total 39,874 registered voters.
Chhatra Dal-backed vice-president candidate for the DUCSU elections, Abidul Islam Khan, on Tuesday evening alleged widespread rigging in the polls.
‘Ballots were found in boxes that had earlier been declared empty. The scale of rigging in the DUCSU elections surpassed even the levels seen in Sheikh Hasina’s rigged elections,’ Abidul claimed on the DU campus.
Earlier, he complained about an alleged ballot tampering in favour of Shibir candidates at Curzon Hall and TSC centres where voters were given pre-filled ballot papers.
Boishommobirodhi Shikkharthi Sangsad panel’s vice-president candidate Abdul Kader, in the evening, termed the elections a power-sharing exercise between the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami.
Shikkhak Network, a platform of university teachers, on Tuesday evening criticised the university authorities for their inefficiency in managing the DUCSU elections.
Dhaka University’s sociology teacher Professor Samina Lutfa said that election officials appeared unprepared for the large number of students who came to cast their votes.
‘We do not even know how polling officers were appointed,’ Samina said, adding that there seemed to be a shortage of manpower to handle the heavy turnout.
She also said that election observers from the network received multiple reports of polling agents being absent from several centers, allegedly due to a lack of support from the election authorities.
At noon, Swatantra Shikkharthi Oikya Panel’s career development secretary candidate for the DUCSU, Rupaiya Shrestha Tanchangya, first raised concerns that one of her voters found a pre-filled ballot at the TSC polling centre. The ballot was with a cross mark on a Shibir panel candidate, Rupaiya said.
Similarly, Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad-backed Baishamyabirodhi Shikkharthi Sangsad panel’s GS candidate for the DUCSU Abu Baker Mojumder also questioned a ballot manipulation at the Curzon Hall polling centre.
He alleged that a polling officer named Ziaur Rahman gave a filled-in ballot to a voter from Amar Ekushey Hall. The polling authorities, later, relieved Ziaur from his duty.
Protesting against the alleged ballot tampering, Insaniyat Biplob-backed VP candidate for the DUCSU, Tahmina Akter, withdrew her candidacy, she told journalists at 3:20pm.
At 5:20pm, a silent procession led by Chhatra Dal central president Rakibul Islam Rakib met DU vice-chancellor Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan.
Rakib alleged several irregularities in the polls, including the DU administration’s favour for the Shibir-backed contestants and expressed his concerns over the gatherings of Jamaat and Shibir supporters at some entrances of the campus.
Professor Niaz, responding to Chhatra Dal’s allegation about his bias towards a political party, said, ‘I am declaring that I maintain no relation with any political party.’
Dhaka University students of 18 halls cast their votes at eight polling centres.
According to official data, 88 per cent of Surja Sen Hall students, the highest among the voters, cast their votes while 63.67per cent of Shamsun Nahar Hall, the lowest, cast their votes.
In the halls of male students, the voter participation ranged between 75 and 88 per cent while in the female halls, the voter participation ranged between 63.67 and 68.39 per cent.
In the daylong polls, incidents of elections code of conduct violations were spotted in different polling centres.
Several supporters of candidates drove motorbikes with pillions and roamed around polling centres. Using motorbikes for own use or transporting voters is a violation of 3 (B) of DUCSU code of conduct.
According to 9 (B) of the code of conduct, distribution of food and any kind of drinks is a violation which was also spotted in front of several polling centres.
Bangladesh Chhatra Shibir-backed Oikyabaddha Shikkharthi Jote’s VP candidate for DUCSU, Abu Sadik Kayem alleged that some candidates distributed campaigning leaflets and panels’ candidate list within 100 metres of polling centres.
Left-leaning student organisations-backed Aporajeyo 71¬- Adyommo 24 panel’s GS candidate for DUCSU Anamul Hasan Onoy also alleged about the same thing.Â
Independent GS candidate Samiya Akhter and social welfare candidate Tahmina Akter Mim for Rokeya Hall Students’ Union, complained that domineering candidates violated the code of conduct by influencing voters inside the TSC polling centre. Both of them alleged that they separately informed the polling authorities but didn't get any remedy.
Nuzia Rasin Rasha, the common room, reading room and cafeteria secretary candidate from the Protirodh Parshad panel for the DUCSU, alleged that the panel asked for 54 polling agents but was granted 21.
She added that one of the panel’s polling agents, Maruful Islam, could not enter the Udayan School and College polling centre as his identity card had the wrong photograph.
Swatantra Sikkharthi Oikko panel’s Rupaiya Shrestha Tanchangya complained that she had submitted a list of eight polling agents but the returning officer approved agents only for two, leaving many centres including the Geography Department centre without polling agents for her.
While covering the DUCSU polls at Curzon Hall polling centre, a journalist of Channel S Television, Tarikul Shibli, died of cardiac arrest at about 1:30pm.
In the DUCSU elections, 470 candidates, independently and from 12 panels, contested in 28 posts while 1,035 candidates contested 234 posts in 18 hall union elections.
A large number of law enforcing members, including police, RAB, SWAT, BGB, Ansar, and volunteers, including from the Bangladesh National Cadet Corps and Rover Scout, were seen deployed to ensure security inside the campus.
To facilitate voters’ movement from halls to polling centres, the DU administration arranged circular bus services during the polls. However, some visually impaired students alleged that they could not avail the bus services due to a lack of coordination.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka University authorities on Tuesday evening issued a notice that no examination and classes would be held today.
