DUCSU polls: Chhatra Dal sees ‘tactics to avoid complaints’ in administration’s reply

Ballot printing at Nilkhet proves election irregularities, the student group claims

Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal has criticised Dhaka University’s response to its complaints about the DUCSU polls, calling the administration’s remarks on CCTV footage requests “vague” and a “tactic to avoid complaints”.

The university described Chhatra Dal’s applications for CCTV review as “indefinite” and “baseless”, which the student body termed “extremely unclear” in a statement on Friday.

The statement said: “The university administration released its statement without properly reviewing or investigating the 11 complaints raised by candidates backed by our organisation. While the applications sought to review footage from specific booths inside Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall, Salimullah Muslim Hall, and Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall, the administration broadly termed them as ‘indefinite’.

“Concerns raised over actual voter presence cannot be resolved without reviewing the full day’s CCTV footage.”

It added that, knowing the footage is not a public document, the candidates had applied to view it privately in the presence of university officials.

The BNP’s student front also pointed out that their applications were filed within three days of the election in line with the DUCSU and hall union constitutions. “After repeated efforts to draw attention to these issues, we held a press conference to raise 11 specific allegations of irregularities. Even so, the administration still referred to them as ‘indefinite’ and ‘lacking merit’, without any clear explanation.”

The group said the university’s emphasis on the post-complaint briefing rather than the original written applications exposed “a lack of commitment” to proper procedure.

“Is this so-called due process merely a way to delay or avoid addressing genuine concerns?” the student front asked, saying the question now rests with all students of Dhaka University.

The BNP-aligned student organisation alleged 11 key irregularities in the polls and demanded the release of CCTV footage, which the Election Commission declined.

In a notice issued on Wednesday, the commission said it was unable to provide access to sensitive lists based on “unclear and baseless” applications.

Chhatra Dal argued that access to voter lists during polling, and the ability for polling agents to verify turnout, is a basic requirement for any fair election.

But, according to them, no such access was granted in the DUCSU or hall union polls.

They said this lack of transparency led to serious doubts over the published turnout rates, but no one except the university had access to actual data, either during or after the polls.

“Still, instead of causing any disruption, we submitted formal requests to resolve these doubts. Due to legal issues around disclosing photos and personal data, we even proposed a solution -- to provide anonymised versions of the voter lists showing only turnout -- while keeping all sensitive information confidential. Yet even these were dismissed as ‘indefinite’ or ‘baseless’.”

Referring to the ballot controversy, the group said: “While the administration fully denied that DUCSU ballot papers were printed in Nilkhet, recent investigative reports in multiple media outlets have clearly proven that the ballot papers for both DUCSU and the hall union elections were indeed printed there.”

“This confirms that the allegations raised by our candidates were accurate, and that the university administration misrepresented the irregularities in its official statement,” it added.