VP candidate Shadik Kayem enters DUCSU vote counting room, sparks backlash

He enters the room despite a policy barring the entry of all candidates

Amid allegations of bias in favour of Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed candidates in the DUCSU elections, photos have surfaced showing VP candidate Shadik Kayem inside a vote counting room.

Images posted on social media on Tuesday drew criticism from rival candidates as vote counting began.

Jabir Ahmed Jubel, AGS candidate from the left-backed “Protirodh Parshad” panel, shared two photos of Kayem and member candidate Raihan Uddin inside the DU Club counting room.

He wrote that no candidate is allowed there, yet both entered, raising “a serious question”.

Member candidate Mishkatul Mashiat also shared a photo, asking: “Where does Shibir get the audacity to think themselves above all rules?”

Kayem admitted he was inside for a short period.

“I went there around 5pm, I stayed for a minute at most. JCD and independent candidates were also there with me,” he told reporters.

He said he entered only to inform officials that returning officers were leaving the centres.

Asked about the breach, Golam Rabbani, head of the code of conduct taskforce, said: “I was on duty at another centre. The chief returning officer can clarify.”