DUCSU election: Polls suspended for three hours at Kuwait Maitree Hall, provost replaced

DUCSU and Hall Council polls at Dhaka University’s Kuwait-Bangladesh Maitree Hall have opened over three hours behind schedule after sacks of filled ballot papers were found and led to the suspension of voting.

According to election Returning Officer Mahfuzur Rahman, voting began at 11:10 am and will continue until 5:10 pm.

Authorities have relieved provost and election presiding officer Department of Management Prof Dr Shabnam Jahan and replaced her with Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies Prof Mahbuba Nasreen, according to a statement from Dhaka University.

A four-member panel will be formed to investigate the incident, the university authority said.

Though voting was to begin at all 18 halls at 8 am, students held a protest in front of the Kuwait Maitree Hall around 7 am after sacks of filled ballots were found.

Students surrounded Proctor Golam Rabbani and Pro Vice Chancellor Muhammad Samad at the hall gate to demand that the polls be scrapped. Police attempted to enter the hall, but were blocked by students.

Voting for the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) and hall councils began at 16 of the 18 residential halls at Dhaka University at 8 am on Monday. The polls at Kuwait-Bangladesh Maitree Hall polls did not open.

Though polls were scheduled to close at 2 pm, the time for Kuwait-Bangladesh Maitree Hall has been extended to 5:10 pm according to the three-hour delay to the start of polls.

A four-member panel led by Pro Vice Chancellor Muhammad Samad has been formed to investigate the attempted vote rigging.

Students showed a huge number of ballots to reporters outside the hall, saying they had been filled the night before the election.

The ballots were cast for members of the Chhatra League’s hall panel.

Kuwait Maitree Hall council vice presidential candidate Shamsunnahar Poly alleged that the filled ballots were kept at the reading room next to the hall’s auditorium.

“They were doing this after they locked the doors. They were sitting inside and marking the ballots. We told the provost at 7:30 am: ‘Ma’am we want to see empty ballot boxes’, but she would not allow us to see them. She said the proctor would show them to us once he arrived.”

“The proctor came and said there will be a fair election and that they would be shown. He went inside and locked the door. We knocked several times but they refused to open it for a time. When the door opened we found sacks of ballot papers.”

A total of 43,255 voters can cast their ballots at the 18 halls at Dhaka University. Kuwait Maitree Hall has 1,969 voters.

Independent candidate for DUCSU general secretary Asifur Rahman claims that all of the ballots found had voted for candidates from ‘one panel’.

“The ballots were marked overnight. We are calling for voting to be suspended.”

Amidst the protest Pro Vice Chancellor Muhammad Samad gave assurances that those responsible would be punished.

At 10 am Proctor Golam Rabbani informed the media that Kuwait Maitree Hall Acting Provost and Department of Management Prof Dr Shabnam Jahan would be removed.

She was replaced by Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies Director Prof Mahbuba Nasreen.

Pro Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof Muhammad Samad has been appointed the head of the committee investigating the manner, the university said in a statement.

Returning Officer Mahfuzur Rahman spoke to the students for an extended period, calming the protest and opening the polls over three hours behind schedule.