CUCSU’s two reserved seats draw 23 female contenders

No female candidate has submitted nomination papers for the VP post

Among the 48 women entering the race for the Chittagong University Central Students' Union (CUCSU), 23 are contesting the two posts set aside for female students.

In all, 429 students have submitted nomination papers for the election, Ariful Haque Siddique, member Secretary of the Election Commission, said on Saturday night.

The commission’s list shows that only 48 of the 429 candidates are female. None have entered the contest for the vice-president post.

One female candidate, however, is running for the general secretary position, while two are competing for the role of assistant general secretary.

Of the two seats reserved for women, the student welfare secretary post received 12 nominations, while the assistant student welfare secretary role drew 11 submissions.

Besides the reserved posts, female students also applied for several other positions:

• 3 nominations each were filed for library and cafeteria secretary,

• 2 nominations each for assistant literary, cultural and publication secretary, social welfare and environment secretary, and communication and accommodation secretary.

In addition, female candidates are contesting the posts of assistant sports and athletics secretary, office secretary, assistant office secretary, liberation war and democratic movement secretary, career development and international affairs secretary, science and information technology secretary, and law and human rights secretary, with one contender for each position.

The election commission will verify the nomination papers on Sunday. The preliminary candidate list will be published on Monday, followed by the final list on Sept 15.

Nomination withdrawal will be accepted on Sept 23, with objections handled the following day. Voting is scheduled for Oct 12.