The pro-Bangladesh Nationalist Party teachers’ platform at Jahangirnagar University on Friday condemned what they described as a smear campaign and widespread irregularities in the JU Central Students’ Union election held on Thursday.
In a statement, the Nationalist Teachers’ Forum accused several election commission members and hall provosts aligned with a rival political camp of shielding misconduct that led the BNP-backed student group, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, to boycott the polls.
The forum said that on the night of September 10, false claims were circulated on social media suggesting ballot papers had been distributed prematurely to favour JCD candidates.
In reality, according to the teachers, ballot papers were sent to polling centres the following morning under the supervision of returning officers, while only ballot boxes and materials were moved the night before.
‘The purpose of such fabricated claims was to corner the JCD candidates before the election even began’, the forum said, adding that activists of a rival political party amplified the rumors online.
The statement alleged ballot stuffing, harassment of candidates’ agents and journalists at several halls, including Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib Hall, Jahanara Imam Hall, Tazuddin Ahmed Hall and Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall.
It further claimed that at least one hall provost openly solicited votes for a rival panel and that monitors witnessed abandoned ballots and other irregularities.
However, the claim could not be verified independently.
The forum also pointed to the absence of serial numbers on JUCSU ballot papers, lack of photo-attached voter lists, and failure to apply indelible ink in many cases, which they said created scope for voter fraud and disenfranchisement.
Calling the polls ‘stage-managed exercise to ensure victory for a particular political camp’, the teachers demanded that the allegations should be addressed and a fresh election should be held to restore credibility.
The statement was signed by Professors Syed Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan, Mahbub Kabir, M Nazrul Islam, Md Shamsul Alam, Nazmul Alam, Md Sohel Rana and Khandakar Mohammad Shariful Huda.
