United News of Bangladesh

Chief Election Commissioner of Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election Professor Dr Moniruzzaman  said the final results of the election will be declared by 7 pm on Saturday.  “We have been counting votes for the past three days amid various dramatic developments. There were several obstacles but despite the delay we are hopeful of announcing the final results by 7pm,” he said while talking to reporters this morning. Sources said vote counting has been completed in 15 residential halls out of 21. Informal results suggested that the panel backed by Islami Chhatra Shibir is leading in 21 out of 25 positions. Tight races are being reported for four key posts—Vice President (VP), Cultural Affairs Secretary, Sports Secretary and Social Welfare Secretary. Independent candidate Jitu leading in JUCSU VP race; counting still underway Independent candidates are leading in three positions while Bagchas-backed candidate Ahsan Labib is ahead for Social Welfare Secretary. Independent candidate Abdur Rashid Jitu is leading the VP race by a margin of around 800 votes over Shibir-backed Arif Ullah while in the Cultural Secretary race, Jisan Ahmed Jisu is ahead of Shibir panel’s Ali Zaki Shahriar. In the race for Sports Secretary, independent candidate Mahmudul Hasan Kiran is leading against Shibir panel’s Shafiuzzaman Shaheen. Though the BNP-backed panel boycotted the election earlier, their nominated Assistant General Secretary (Women) candidate Anjuman Ara Ikra urged students to accept the results in the greater interest of the student body. She came up with the urge in her facebook post on Friday night. In her post, she wrote, “Regardless of the outcome, we were committed to ensuring fair voting for the students. Despite open irregularities and rigging by the administration, we must accept this verdict for the sake of the students.” She further urged BNP student wing leaders to focus on their mistakes and moving forward. Vote counting of the election began on the night of September 11 after it ended amid allegations of ballot stuffing and administrative bias. A total of 11,743 students were eligible to cast their votes in the election, with turnout reaching around 67-68 percent. A total of eight full and partial panels contested this year’s JUCSU election, though several later pulled out of the race. The panels that boycotted the polls include the BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Sampritir Oikya, Swatantra Angikar Parishad, Songshoptak Parishad, and candidates from the Socialist Student Front. Some independent candidates also withdrew from the election. Among those who stayed in the race were the Jamaat-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir-supported “Combined Students’ Alliance,” the “Student Unity Forum” backed by Ganatantrik Chhatra Sansad, and the independent “Students’ Sammilon” led by former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Abdur Rashid Jitu. This year, 177 candidates are contesting in 25 posts JUCSU polls. Nine candidates are vying for the position of vice president (VP), while eight competed for the general secretary (GS) post. In the women’s 10 residential halls, 59 out of 150 posts had no candidates, while 67 posts had only one candidate each, resulting in elections being held for just 24 posts. In two of the university’s 21 halls, all candidates were elected unopposed.  

Unofficial results from six centres of Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (JUCSU) election show that independent candidate Abdur Rashid Jitu is leading in the race for Vice President (VP). According to initial counts, Jitu has taken a narrow lead in the VP post. Meanwhile, candidates backed by Islami Chhatra Shibir are ahead in the other key positions. Mazharul Islam is leading in General Secretary (GS), Ferdous Al Hasan in Assistant General Secretary (AGS – male) and Ayesha Siddika Meghla in AGS (female) posts. Vote counting has been completed in 11 out of 21 centres as of filing this report around 9 am on Saturday. The final results are expected to be announced once counting is completed in all centres. Vote counting of the election began on the night of September 11 after it ended amid allegations of ballot stuffing and administrative bias. A total of 11,743 students were eligible to cast their votes in the election, with turnout reaching around 67-68 percent. A total of eight full and partial panels contested this year’s JUCSU election, though several later pulled out of the race. JUCSU election results expected between 8pm and 10pm The panels that boycotted the polls include the BNP-backed Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Sampritir Oikya, Swatantra Angikar Parishad, Songshoptak Parishad, and candidates from the Socialist Student Front. Some independent candidates also withdrew from the election. Among those who stayed in the race were the Jamaat-backed Islami Chhatra Shibir-supported “Combined Students’ Alliance,” the “Student Unity Forum” backed by Ganatantrik Chhatra Sansad, and the independent “Students’ Sammilon” led by former coordinator of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, Abdur Rashid Jitu. This year, 177 candidates are contesting in 25 posts JUCSU polls. Nine candidates are vying for the position of vice president (VP), while eight competed for the general secretary (GS) post. In the women’s 10 residential halls, 59 out of 150 posts had no candidates, while 67 posts had only one candidate each, resulting in elections being held for just 24 posts. In two of the university’s 21 halls, all candidates were elected unopposed.    

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD)-backed panel has boycotted Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) and hall union elections alleging vote rigging. JCD’s general secretary candidate Tanzila Hossain Boishakhi announced the decision at a press conference on the campus around 3:30 pm on Thursday. She said they have boycotted the polls as polling officers of Islami Chhata Shibir entered the centers an hour before the scheduled start of voting. Besides, Shibir supporters were engaged in vote rigging at different centers  and its female supporters cast multiple votes . JUCSU: Voting resumes at Hall No 15 The balloting began at 9am amid festive mood. The polls mark the first JUCSU elections in 33 years, a milestone development for campus politics and student representation at the university. According to university sources, 11,919 students are eligible to vote, while 178 candidates are vying for 25 JUCSU posts. To ensure smooth proceedings, around 1,200 police personnel have been deployed across the campus.

Hafizur Rahman Sohan, vice-president of the central unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), was detained from Rabindranath Tagore Hall of Jahangirnagar University (JU) during the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) elections on Thursday. Professor Shafiqul Islam, provost of the hall, said students caught Sohan, a member of the university’s 36th batch, from a room around 11 am and handed him over to the proctorial body. Asked about his unauthorised stay in the residential hall, Sohan said, “I came to the campus at night. I wasn’t feeling well, so I was taking rest at the hall.” In reply to a query on whether he had sought permission, he admitted, “No, I didn’t take any permission.” JUCSU voting in progress amid festive spirit Prof Shafiqul said former students are not allowed to stay in residential halls during an election period as per the code of conduct. “That’s why we handed him over to the proctorial team,” he added. JU Proctor Prof Dr AKM Rashidul Alam said, “We sent security guards to bring him in. Action will be taken against him as per rules.” Voting for the long-awaited Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union elections is underway in a festive and peaceful atmosphere on Thursday.

Despite making up nearly half of the voters female students at Jahangirnagar University (JU) are showing little interest in contesting the upcoming Jucsu election as many are citing cyber bullying and social harassment as the main deterrents. Due to female students’ reluctance to participate in Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (Jucsu) election there has been a shortage of candidates in both the central student council and hall council elections. In most of the female halls, no candidates were found for several posts highlighting a clear lack of competition. Talking to UNB, several female students said they fear online propaganda, distorted images, personal attacks and a lack of equal opportunities in a male-dominated political culture. As active political organisations are dominating the scene it has become more of a political platform than a representative forum and so general students are less interested, they said. Some of them said Jucsu election is being held after 33 years and many are still unclear about its procedures. Assistant General Secretary (AGS) candidate from “Shikkharthi Oikya Forum” panel, Malihah Namla said, “The main reason behind women’s reluctance is cyber bullying. Lack of equal opportunities also plays a major role. Families discourage their daughter fearing personal attacks and propaganda.” Read: 328 forms collected for JUCSU election after two days; deadline extended till Aug 21st She said raising social awareness, holding seminars and campaigns, and ensuring exemplary punishment for cyber bullies will encourage greater female participation. AGS candidate Ayesha Siddika Meghla from the “Somonnito Shikkharthi Jote” panel said, “When a woman tries to take the lead she is bullied, tagged, and bashed. She is labelled differently depending on her ideology. Families, too, hesitate thinking their daughters will face humiliation. As a result, many women cannot step forward despite their competence and willingness.” According to election commission data, a total of 813 nomination papers were distributed for central and hall-level posts but only 740 were submitted. Of them, 273 were filed for central positions and 467 for hall-level posts. In the male dormitories, nearly all posts have multiple candidates but in female halls show significant gaps. Jahangara Imam Hall received 16 nominations, Pritilata Hall 13, Begum Khaleda Zia Hall 11, and Sufia Kamal Hall 10, Nawab Faizunnesa Hall and No 12 female dormitory saw only six submissions each, the lowest among all halls. Read more: JUCSU elections: Non-students ordered to leave halls by August 16 The shortage of female candidates has sparked mixed reactions on campus. Students and teachers believe structural barriers, lack of family support, and inadequate understanding of the election process have contributed to women’s reluctance. Chief Election Commissioner of Jucsu Dr Md Moniruzzaman said the commission has not yet received any formal complaint of cyber bullying or harassment. “If we get such complaints we will investigate and take action. After 33 years we are arranging the Jucsu polls and all students should have the opportunity to participate. No one should be pushed away by harassment,” he added.