Dhaka University announces election to its Central Students Union after three decades

After nearly three decades, Dhaka University will hold elections to its Central Students Union, or DUCSU.

Voting will be held on Mar 11, the university’s Vice-chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Voting will be held between 8am and 2pm for DUCSU and Hall Union election on Mar 11,” read the notice.

Before the announcement, the vice-chancellor met hall provosts and an advisory council on DUCSU polls.     

DUCSU was formed a year after Dhaka University was established in 1921. Dhaka University’s student leaders were at the forefront of the Language Movement and the Independence Movement.

Though DUCSU elections are to be held every year, there have only been six ballots since independence.

The last election was held on Jun 6, 1990. Though efforts were made several times, no election has been organised since then.

Analysts observed that youth leadership grooming suffered due to the absence of a DUCSU.

President Md Abdul Hamid, who is the ex-officio chancellor of all the universities in Bangladesh, asked Dhaka University to organise the DUCSU polls in his speech at its convocation last year. 

The High Court later settled a six-year-old rule on the issue, ordering DUCSU elections to be held within six months or Mar 15 this year. 

The university last Thursday named Prof SM Mahfuzur Rahman of international business department as the returning officer for the DUCSU polls.

The VC also formed a council of 15 advisers from the teachers to assist in holding the election and a seven-member committee to set the code of conduct.

He held meetings with the student organisations to discuss issues such as location of polling stations.