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Published : 13 Sep 2025, 11:00 PM
Newly elected general secretary (GS) Mazharul Islam from the Shibir-backed Samannito Shikkarthi Jote has said the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election has not lost credibility despite the controversies surrounding it.
He spoke immediately outside the university’s Senate Hall after the Election Commission declared the results there on Saturday evening, two days after polling was completed.
"We do not think this election has lost credibility," Mazharul said. "You will see that nearly 70 percent of students cast their votes."
The election was marred by allegations of irregularities and chaos during voting, the withdrawal of most panels in protest, lengthy counting, and the death of a teacher on election duty.
The main issue arose when the Election Commission switched from using OMR machines to manual counting after allegations surfaced that ballot papers and OMR machines were procured from a company linked to Jamaat-e-Islami.
This manual counting caused the delay in announcing the results, taking two days to complete.
Mazharul said, “We want to say the victory belongs to the Samannito Shikkarthi Jote, to all the students of Jahangirnagar University. We believe the final achievement will come the day we properly fulfil our duties and hold the next JUCSU election.”
He paid tribute to Assistant Prof Jannatul Ferdous of the fine arts, who died suddenly while performing election duties, praying for her soul.
“Nearly 70 percent of students exercised their voting rights. Our teachers worked tirelessly during the long manual counting process. Sadly, one teacher passed away,” the GS-elect said.
Mazharul claimed no irregularities were observed during vote counting and added, “Despite some minor flaws, we believe this election was successful.”
The Shibir leader also said, “Since direct activities resumed on campus on the 29th of October last year, we have faced a lot of slander and false accusations. Yet, we have remained sincere, worked in an orderly manner, and tried to identify and solve the problems faced by ordinary students.”
Acknowledging that “no one is above making mistakes”, Mazharul added: “We want to welcome any kind of criticism while running JUCSU.”
Mazharul secured 3,930 votes to win the GS post. His closest rival Abu Tauhid Mohammad Siam from Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sanghad (BGCS), received 1,238 votes.
Candidates supported by the Shibir-backed panel swept 20 of the 25 posts in the election.
Mazharul Islam thanked the students for voting and electing him.
Arif Ullah Adib, the defeated VP candidate from Mazharul’s panel, along with leaders and activists of Jahangirnagar University’s student Shibir, were present at the time.
