The commission for the elections to the Rajshahi University Central Students鈥� Union, hall unions, and five posts of senate student representatives on Monday once again extended the deadline for distributing nomination papers by two days.
鈥楧ue to some unexpected incidents on Sunday, the deadline for collecting nomination papers has been extended for today and tomorrow. However, the subsequent activities will be held as per the previously announced schedule,鈥� acting chief election commissioner Professor Mostafa Kamal said on Monday.
He said that a total of 323 nomination forms had been sold till Monday against 23 posts in the RUCSU elections, scheduled for September 25.
In addition, 583 students collected nomination papers for different posts in the hall union elections across 17 residential halls, while 69 students collected nomination papers for five Senate student representative posts, he added.
According to the election schedule announced on July 28, the distribution of nomination papers was initially set to begin on August 17, but the programme was postponed on the eve of the date.
In the revised schedule, distribution was rescheduled for August 24鈥�26. Later, in an emergency meeting on August 26, the deadline was extended until August 31. The latest decision has now pushed the deadline to September 2.
The deadline for submitting the nomination papers was rescheduled for September 4 though the earlier scheduled date was September 7.
Meanwhile, leaders and activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal on Monday continued their demonstration demanding the inclusion of freshers in the RUCSU voter list.
More than fifty of them took position in front of the university鈥檚 administrative building at noon, staging a sit-in by blocking the main entrance gate.
Addressing the protest, RU JCD general secretary Sardar Jahurul Islam warned that they would not allow the commission to hold the RUCSU elections if their demand was ignored.
He also demanded justice over the attack on him and his party colleagues during Sunday鈥檚 demonstration in front of the RUCSU election commission office.
RU JCD president Sultan Ahmed Rahi alleged that the university administration had paid Tk 15 lakh to Chhatra Shibir and three other student organisations to launch the attacks on JCD activists on Sunday, a claim denied by vice-chancellor Professor Saleh Hasan Naqib.
On Sunday morning, JCD activists vandalised furniture, overturned a table, and locked the gate of the RUCSU election commission office, halting the distribution of nomination papers, over their demand for inclusion of freshers in the voter list.
When former coordinators of the Students鈥� Movement Against Discrimination came to collect nomination papers, scuffles and heated altercations broke out.
By midday, students led by former coordinators broke open the lock, but JCD activists continued their blockade.
The situation further escalated when Shibir activists arrived at about 1:00pm to collect nomination papers, sparking another round of pushing, shoving, and slogan battles.
Under mounting pressure from rival groups, JCD eventually withdrew from the gate, allowing the distribution of nomination papers to resume at about 2:00pm, after a four-hour suspension.
That evening, the election commission convened a meeting with student groups to defuse the situation. But leaders of the JCD, the Democratic Students鈥� Alliance, and the Students鈥� Rights Council walked out in protest, alleging administrative bias and negligence.
