The Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election has been stayed for the second time, with authorities now setting September 11 as the new date.
The announcement came early Friday following a 10-hour meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Kamarul Ahsan, which continued till 4:30am beginning at 7:30 pm on Thursday.
At the meeting, students questioned the administration over the delays accusing them of deliberately postponing the election.
The administration was also criticised for not taking disciplinary action against the accused in the July uprising
In response, the VC sought additional time to complete the judicial process and, after discussions with university officials, announced a revised roadmap for both the disciplinary measures (against accused) and the JUCSU polls.
According to the new plan, final verdicts regarding the temporarily suspended Chhatra League members involved in the July attack will be delivered by August 4, with the election schedule to be announced the same day.
Final action against faculty members allegedly linked to the attack will be taken by August 31.
JUCSU election set for July 31, army to be deployed if needed
A new election commission will also be formed as the previous commission has been dissolved following the postponement.
The administration said that a fresh election schedule will be announced on August 20, with voting to take place on September 11.
In a reaction, Arifuzzaman Uzzal, convenor of the university unit of Bangladesh Democratic Students' Council, said, "The university administration has repeatedly tried to link justice for the July uprising attackers with the JUCSU election. The polls have been deferred several times already, and now it's been delayed again."
“Still, we want to place our trust in this administration one last time,” he added. “We hope they will not betray the students like the authoritarian administration of the past.”
Previously, the elections were scheduled for May 21 and July 31 but were postponed on both occasions.