DUCSU polls: Meghmallar alleges adminstration ‘incompetence’, attempts to curb turnout

He says he will withdraw candidacy if the polls turn out to be a ‘scam’

General secretary candidate of the Pratirodh Parshad panel, Meghmallar Basu, has accused the Dhaka University administration of “incompetence” and of taking steps that could lower voter turnout in the upcoming Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Meghmallar said their panel would continue campaigning in full scale.

However, he warned that if the election process turned out to be a “scam” and the administration showed “no backbone”, they might eventually withdraw from the polls.

Meghmallar, also president of Dhaka University Students’ Union, expressed concern over what he termed administrative failures in election regulations, the decision not to increase polling centres, and the suspension of metro rail services on voting day -- all of which, he argued, were measures that could discourage voter turnout.

He also criticised bureaucratic delays in campaign permissions and the scheduling of exams on Sept 7 and 8.

The Pratirodh Parshad, a leftist alliance, is contesting the election with Meghmallar running for general secretary and Sheikh Tasnim Afroz Emi for vice president.

Citing examples of code of conduct violations before campaigning even began, Meghmallar urged students to take into account which candidates had maintained electoral rules and which had flouted them, by entering Rokeya Hall at night, distributing Qurans before the election, or campaigning inside reading rooms.

On the decision to deploy the army at university entrances, he said while the absence of an effective proctorial team had left the administration leaning on law enforcement, there were concerns that soldiers unfamiliar with the electoral process could create disruption.

He also noted that the presence of troops might create a “visual impact of fear” and reduce voter turnout.

Meghmallar warned of the possibility of “line-jamming” to suppress voters, a practice he claimed had been used during previous DUCSU polls by former Chhatra League activists, now members of another organisation.

The administration, he said, had yet to explain how it would counter such attempts.

Criticising the decision to hold the election in just eight centres, Meghmallar questioned how more than 20,000 students would be able to vote under such constraints.

He also alleged widespread code violations in student halls, claiming that feasts were being organised with money from candidates’ supporters, amounting to bribery of first- and second-year students.