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Published : 22 Sep 2025, 03:31 PM
The Bangladesh Jatiyabadi Chhatra Dal backed panel has raised a list of complaints in the Dhaka University Central Students Council (DUCSU) elections, including the “signing of a voter list” before voters arrived and “supplying of ballot papers already stamped in favour of a specific panel”.
Chhatra Dal Vice President candidate Abidul Islam Khan Abid made the allegations at a press briefing held at Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen on Monday.
Although students participated spontaneously in the DUCSU elections held on Sept 9, they were “not free and fair” due to the administration’s failure and the interference of some groups, said Abidul.
He said no serial numbers were printed on the ballot papers, which created the “opportunity for vote rigging.” This raised questions against the voting rights of thousands of students, he commented.
On Sept 9, the DUCSU elections were held in a festive and peaceful atmosphere after six years, with more than 70 percent of the approximately 40,000 eligible voters casting their votes.
Voters in nearly all halls gave Islami Chhatra Shibir's two candidates for the central VP and GS positions a massive win. Shibir candidates particularly saw unprecedented support in the women's residential halls.
Shibir's main rivals in the election race were the candidates of the Chhatra Dal, who did not win any of the positions. The three secretarial positions that Shibir failed to grab were won by independent contestants.
Shadik Kayem, vice-president candidate from the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel won 14,042 votes. His nearest contestant Abidul Islam from Chhatra Dal, the student wing of the BNP, bagged 5,708 votes.
Thirteen days after the election, Abidul held a press briefing and raised allegations of rigging, saying: "Despite notifying the authorities repeatedly in accordance with the law and regulations, the administration did not take any effective action. Rather, time was deliberately wasted."
According to Abid, the election will be known as a “questionable one” in the institution’s history.
"At the same time, it will bring the Dhaka University administration back to the path of transparency and accountability -- one of the pillars of democratic values -- and reveal the truth through proper investigation."
He highlighted 11 alleged irregularities in the DUCU elections.
1. There have been allegations of fraud, including the signing of the voter list before voters showed up, and supplying ballot papers already stamped in favour of a specific panel. Despite an application seeking voter lists and CCTV footage in this regard, the administration did not take effective action.
2. The absence of serial numbers on the ballot papers created opportunities for fraud. The number of ballot papers printed, distributed, used and returned were not disclosed. The candidates repeatedly requested information in this regard, but the administration kept deferring it.
3. The press where the election ballots were printed was kept secret. Later, a large number of ballot papers were found unused in a printing press in Nilkhet.
4. The verification of the vote counting machines and software was done in secret. No candidate or voter was informed about it. As a result, questions were raised about the credibility of the vote counting.
5. Although each polling centre was supposed to have one polling agent, the list was published the night before the voting day, eliminating many candidates' proposed agents. The process of selecting agents was also kept secret.
6. ID cards were not provided to the agents on time. Hence, many agents could not enter the polling stations. Therefore, voting took place in a biased environment in several centres.
7. Candidates were informed that agent-supervised voting would take place in eight centres, but on election day, it was conducted in 18 centres. Apart from a specific panel, the rest were unable to appoint enough agents.
8. There was also ambiguity in the appointment of polling officers. Instead of the chief returning officer, the university administration directly appointed them. Many polling officers were unaware of the code of conduct and provided misinformation to journalists.
9. The role of BNCC, Rover Scouts and Girl Guides members in charge of security was questioned. It is alleged that with their help, outsiders were allowed to enter the centres. Students nabbed some outsiders and handed them over to the proctor's office.
10. Polling agents were kept away from the counting process during the counting of votes. As a result, most agents left the centre without signing the result sheet.
11. In addition to the use of opaque ballot boxes, voters were forced to use ballpoint pens after many booths ran out of marker pens in the afternoon. There are allegations that votes cast with ballpoint pens were not counted in the OMR machine. It is also suspected that there was an opportunity to vote multiple times for a voter as the ink used as a marker on their fingers was a temporary one.
