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Published : 06 Jan 2026, 07:54 PM
After two decades of transformation, Jagannath University students have cast their ballots for the first-ever election of the central student council (JnUCSU).
Following a peaceful voting process, counting of votes began at 6:30pm at the Department of Geography and Environment on Tuesday.
Polling for both the central student council and hall student representative elections had started at 9am and officially ended at 4pm, though voting in the Bengali department’s Bazlur Rashid Auditorium began 50 minutes late.
While the central council votes are being counted using six OMR machines in the university’s main auditorium, hall council vote counting has yet to begin.
Election Commissioner Prof Zulfiker Mahmud said turnout reached nearly 65 percent for the central council and around 77 percent for the hall student council.
Student enthusiasm throughout the election was palpable. Some who arrived at the last moment could not enter the polling stations and left with visible disappointment.
First-time voter Susmita Ghosh told bdnews24.com, “I am very happy to cast my first vote on campus.”
Another student Rizia Jannati said: “I am thrilled to vote for the first time in my life at university. I memorised the ballot numbers at home and today voted accordingly. I hope those elected will act on their manifestos.”
Student turnout was high in the morning but decreased around 11am. Between 11am and 1pm, students voted without queues, though lines lengthened again after 2pm. Voting, scheduled to close at 3pm, continued until 4pm.
The main campus gate was closed after 3pm, preventing some students from voting. Prof Zulfiker told bdnews24.com that no extension of voting time had been decided.
“We will only accept votes until 3pm. After that, no one can vote,” he said.
