410 candidates on CUCSU election draft list

The draft candidate list for the Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) elections has been published, approving the nominations of 410 candidates.

The list was released on the CUCSU website on Monday.

Among those who submitted nominations, 23 candidates for vice president and 21 candidates for general secretary and assistant general secretary have been declared valid.

A total of 25 and 22 candidates had submitted nominations for these three posts, respectively.

CUCSU Election Commission Member Secretary Prof AKM Ariful Haque Siddiqui said that after initial scrutiny, the candidacies of 19 people were rejected.

He added that the rejected candidates will be able to apply for re-verification.

Beyond the three top posts, the commission declared valid the nominations of 11 candidates for sports and sports affairs secretary, 12 for associate sports and sports affairs editor, 16 for literature, culture and publications secretary, 16 for associate literature, culture and publications secretary, 18 for office secretary, 13 for associate office secretary, one of the two posts reserved for female students, 12 for student welfare secretary, 11 for associate student welfare secretary, 11 for science and information technology secretary, 13 for research and innovation secretary, 20 for social service and environment secretary, 17 for health affairs secretary and liberation war and democratic movement secretary, 16 for career development and international secretary, 20 for communication and housing secretary, 14 for associate communication and housing secretary, 11 for law and human rights secretary and 19 for library and cafeteria secretary.

In addition, 80 nomination forms have been declared valid out of the 84 submitted for five executive member posts.

The long-delayed election -- the first in 35 years -- saw 529 candidates collect nomination papers. Of these, 429 were ultimately submitted.

According to the election schedule, candidates can withdraw their nominations until Sept 23, with objections to candidacies accepted and resolved the following day.

The final list of candidates will be published on Sept 25. Voting is scheduled for Oct 12.

In the absence of a ruling party, Chhatra Dal has declared a panel, while Islami Chhatra Shibir is fielded candidates under the banner of “Sampritir Chhatra Jote”.

The Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Samajtantrik Chhatra Front have announced a panel called “Droho Parshad,” while Islami Chhatra Andolan has formed “Sachetan Chhatra Sangsad.”

As of Sunday, a total of 12 panels, including “Boichitrer Oikyo,” have been announced by leftist groups, the Pahari Chhatra Parishad and other social and political organisations active on campus.