Chhatra Dal, two other groups demand manual ballot counting in RUCSU elections

Three organisations, including the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, have presented a list of 12 demands, including manual counting of votes in the Rajshahi University Central Students' Union (RUCSU), Senate student representative, and hall elections.

On Saturday, Bangladesh Chhatra Odhikar Parishad President Mehedi Hasan Maruf presented the demands at the university premises.

Maruf is contesting the vice-president post from the panel named “RUCSU for Radical Change”, a joint effort of Chhatra Odhikar Parishad and Students Federation of Bangladesh.

Sheikh Nur Uddin Abir, the Chhatra Dal-backed VP candidate, read out a statement at the press briefing.

The demands call for transparent ballot boxes, opening the boxes before journalists and candidates’ agents at the start of voting, providing high-quality indelible ink for voters, publication of voter lists with photos within a day, manual vote counting for transparency, and specifying candidates’ election expenses and posters.

The demands also include agents to oversee printing, binding, and numbering of ballots, provision of sufficient voting booths, display of voter numbers on digital boards, an effective cyberbullying cell, and not handing out ballot lists to voters on election day.

Additionally, the two panels have demanded the banning of all university-centric pages and groups, including Rajshahi University Sangsad group and Rajshahi University News24.