Chhatra Dal boycotts JUCSU elections over rigging allegations

The Chhatra Dal-backed panel announced a boycott of the Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (JUCSU) and Hall Parliament elections on Thursday (September 11), citing alleged irregularities in the voting process.

More than an hour before the polls closed, GS candidate Tanjila Hossain Boishakhi held a press conference at 3:45pm to declare the boycott.

Earlier, at an emergency press briefing at Maulana Bhashani Hall at 1.00pm, the Chhatra Dal-backed panel accused the Election Commission of supplying ballot papers through a company linked to Jamaat-e-Islami, bypassing proper procurement procedures.

VP candidate Sheikh Sadi Hasan alleged that the move was intended to favour the Chhatra Shibir panel.

Although the commission later scrapped plans to use OMR vote counting machines and announced manual counting, the panel claimed the election continued using ballots from the same company.

Sheikh Sadi further said that demands to replace the ballots were ignored and alleged that Jamaat-Shibir activists had gathered around the campus, creating fear among general students.

Voting for this year’s JUCSU elections began at 9.00am and is scheduled to continue until 5.00pm, with 11,897 students eligible to vote. A total of 177 candidates are contesting for 25 central parliament seats across eight panels supported by the Left, Shibir, Chhatra Dal, and independent groups.