United News of Bangladesh

The Election Commission has announced the results of eight polling centres of Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) election, revealing a tightly contested race for the Vice President (VP) post, with a margin of just six votes between the two leading candidates. According to the results available until 10:30am on Wednesday (January 07, 2026), the Shibir-backed panel “Odommo Jobiyan Oikya” is leading in all three top posts. For the VP post, Shibir-backed candidate Riazul Islam is ahead with 810 votes, narrowly leading Chhatra Dal-backed candidate AKM Rakib, who secured 804 votes. Read more: JnUCSU Elections: Shibir-backed panel leads in key posts at four centres In the General Secretary (GS) race, Shibir panel’s Abdul Alim Arif obtained 825 votes, while Chhatra Dal-backed Khadijat-ul-Kobra received 422 votes. For the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) post, Shibir candidate Masud Rana garnered 799 votes, surpassing Chhatra Dal candidate Atiqur Rahman Tanzil, who received 690 votes. Despite trailing in the top three posts and most editorial positions, the Chhatra Dal-backed panel is leading in the Library Secretary and Cultural Secretary posts. Several of its candidates are also performing strongly in the Executive Member races. Vote counting in the JnUCSU election was suspended for a prolonged period due to mechanical faults. The process later resumed using a combination of manual and machine counting, though authorities failed to complete the counting within the expected timeframe. Counting resumed again around 12:45am on Tuesday after a five-hour break, but by 10:30am on Wednesday, results from only eight centres had been announced. Votes from the remaining 31 polling centres are yet to be counted. Read more: JnUCSU Vote Counting Suspended Due to Technical Malfunction The polling centres whose results have been announced are Anthropology, Public Administration, Geography, Pharmacy, Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), Microbiology, Finance and Genetic Engineering.

The Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel has taken the lead in the posts of Vice President (VP), General Secretary (GS) and Assistant General Secretary (AGS) in four out of 39 centres in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) election. The JnUCSU Election Commission announced the results from the four centres at around 7:00 am on Wednesday (January 07, 2026). According to the results declared so far, Shibir-backed VP candidate Riaz ul Islam is leading with a total of 427 votes, while Chhatra Dal’s AKM Rakib has secured 394 votes. In the GS race, Shibir’s Abdul Alim Arif is ahead with 385 votes, compared to 205 votes for Chhatra Dal’s Khadijatul Kubra. Read more: Neck-and-neck race for VP in JnUCSU polls:  results of 8 polling centres announced For the AGS post, Shibir-backed Masud Rana is leading with 405 votes, while Chhatra Dal’s BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil has obtained 321 votes. In the Department of Geography and Environment, VP candidate Riaz ul Islam received 100 votes, while AKM Rakib secured 91 votes. In the GS post, Abdul Alim Arif bagged 90 votes against Khadijatul Kubra’s 45. For AGS, Masud Rana received 98 votes, while BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil got 45 votes. In the Department of Anthropology, Riaz ul Islam received 128 votes for the VP post, while AKM Rakib secured 118 votes. In the GS race, Abdul Alim Arif received 123 votes, compared to 73 votes for Khadijatul Kubra. However, in the AGS post, Chhatra Dal’s BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil led with 126 votes, while Masud Rana received 102 votes. In the Department of Public Administration, VP candidate Riaz ul Islam secured 122 votes, while AKM Rakib received 132 votes. In the GS post, Abdul Alim Arif received 123 votes against 62 votes for Khadijatul Kubra. For AGS, Masud Rana obtained 130 votes, while BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil got 106 votes. In the Department of Pharmacy, Riaz ul Islam received 78 votes in the VP race, while AKM Rakib secured 53 votes. In the GS post, Abdul Alim Arif received 83 votes, compared to Khadijatul Kubra’s 26 votes. For AGS, Masud Rana obtained 78 votes, while BM Atikur Rahman Tanzil secured 45 votes. Earlier, around 1:00 am, Election Commissioner Professor Shahidul Islam said votes from one centre, where around 300 ballots were cast, were initially counted manually. The same ballots were later recounted using two Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) machines. The machine whose results matched the manual count was selected to complete the counting for the remaining centres. Following the decision, recounting began with 278 votes from the Department of Anthropology. The vote-counting process was suspended around 9:20 pm on Tuesday after technical problems were detected in the counting machine. After the issue was resolved, the Election Commission resumed counting following a prolonged break. Voting in the JnUCSU and hall council elections was held on Tuesday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at 39 centres and 178 booths. Read more: JnUCSU Vote Counting Suspended Due to Technical Malfunction Despite the scheduled closing time, long queues were seen at several departmental centres, and voters waiting in line were allowed to cast their ballots. The voter turnout in the election was said to be approximately 65 per cent.

Voting in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) and Hall Students’ Union elections began on Tuesday (January 06, 2026) amid a festive and peaceful atmosphere. The polling started at around 9am and will continue uninterrupted until 3:30pm. Students began casting their votes from the morning, marking a significant day in campus politics. Long queues of voters were seen in front of the polling centres. This is the first time such elections are being held since Jagannath University was established as a university. Read more: Long-cherished JnUCSU Election on Tuesday A total of 16,500 students are expected to cast their votes at 178 booths across 39 polling centres. Besides, 1,242 students will exercise their voting rights in one hall union. According to the Election Commission, 39 polling centres have been set up, with 178 booths installed across these centres. Of these, 38 centres have been designated for the central students’ union, while one separate centre has been allocated for the hall parliament. Law enforcement agencies and volunteer teams have also been deployed alongside the university administration to maintain security. DU VC meets Tarique Rahman, discusses campus safety ahead of election Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Md Rezaul Karim said, “The university administration has taken all necessary measures to ensure that the long-awaited JnUCSU election is conducted in a free, fair and impartial manner. This election is extremely important for fostering a democratic environment and leadership development at the university. I hope voters will exercise their voting rights in a disciplined manner in a festive atmosphere.” University Proctor Prof Dr Muhammad Tazammul Haque said adequate security measures have been taken in connection with the elections. He also expressed the hope that these measures would remain in place until the completion of the polling. According to the list published on the website, there are four candidates for the Liberation War and Democracy post, nine for Education and Research, five for Science and Technology, five for Health and Environment, four for Law and Human Rights, eight for International Affairs, seven for Literature and Culture, seven for Sports, four for Transport, ten for Social Service and Student Welfare, seven for Library and Seminar, and 57 candidates competing for seven member posts. In the women’s hall, a preliminary list of candidates has been published for 13 posts. These include three candidates for Vice-President (VP), three for General Secretary (GS), two for Assistant General Secretary (AGS), two for Literature and Publication Secretary, four for Culture Secretary, two for Library Secretary, two for Sports Secretary, three for Social Service and Student Welfare Secretary, four for Health and Environment Secretary, and eight candidates competing for four member posts. The JnUCSU election was scheduled to be held on December 30 but was postponed following the demise of former Prime Minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. Read more: Candidates not allowed to enter any center other than their own: JnUCSU Election Commission