Jahangirnagar University students started casting ballots on Thursday morning in the first Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union election in 33 years, as polling began in a festive atmosphere under tight security.
A total of 11,919 registered students are expected to vote for 25 central union posts and 315 hall union seats across 21 residential halls.
Voting, conducted through Optical Mark Recognition ballots in 224 booths, began at 9:00am and will continue until 4:00pm with results due later at night.
Chief election commissioner Professor Md Moniruzzaman said arrangements had been made for a ‘fair and peaceful’ poll.
However, he said that the ballots would be counted manually amid the demand of stakeholders.
Despite concerns over past controversies, students on campus described the mood as celebratory.
‘It feels historic to finally vote after decades. The campus looks alive,’ said Rafi Ahmed, a student of economics.
JU students stressed the need for JUCSU to break with past traditions of exploitation.
At the 10-no. Hall centre, Rashidul Islam, a master’s chemistry student, said, ‘In the past, student politics often thrived on holding students hostage for political gains. I hope this election will end that culture permanently and turn JUCSU into an effective bargaining ground for student interests.’
Sohel Rana, a mathematics student, noted the absence of student voices in decision-making: ‘Without representation in the university senate, students had to run from office to office to press their demands. JUCSU should become the collective voice of students—that is my expectation.’
‘Whatever the result, this election itself is a victory for students,’ added English department undergraduate Tasnim Jahan, at the Pritilata Hall centre.
Inside the polling centres, teachers serving as presiding officers, along with volunteers, were seen guiding voters through the voting process.
Voters were checked to carry her/his valid university identity card, department’s ID card, hall ID card, and library card before entering inside the polling centres.
Around 1,500 police, Border Guard Bangladesh, Ansar, and army personnel are deployed to ensure order, with army units standing by as a striking force outside the campus.
Eight student panels are competing, backed by groups ranging from the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal to left-leaning alliances such as Sampritir Oikya and Sangsaptak Parishad.
Independent candidates, including national footballer Mahmudul Hasan Kiron contesting for sports secretary, have also drawn attention.
A total of 179 candidates are vying for the central posts, including nine for vice-president, nine for general secretary, and 16 for assistant general secretary.
One panel, Sampritir Oikya, is competing without a vice-presidential candidate after the university cancelled Amartya Ray John’s nomination on grounds of expired studentship, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court earlier this week.
‘We’ve been waiting for this moment our entire student life,’ said physics student Mehedi Hasan. ‘The whole campus feels like a festival ground.’
The last JUCSU polls were held in 1992 before being suspended for decades amid political unrest.
The newly elected central body will send five representatives to the university’s 93-member senate body, restoring a student voice in governance after more than three decades.
