Long-awaited JUCSU elections on Thursday

Long-awaited Jahangirnagar University Central Students' Union (JUCSU) elections are set to be held on Thursday.

The elections will take place from 9am to 5pm, marking the first JUCSU elections in 33 years since 1992.

In this elections, a total of 620 candidates are contesting 340 posts across the central and hall unions, including 448 men and 172 women.

Of them, 177 candidates are contesting for 25 posts of the central parliament and 445 for various posts of the hall parliament. The 12-day campaign for the poll ended at 12 midnight on Tuesday.

In the central parliament, 9 candidates are contesting for the post of VP and 8 for the post of GS. However, independent candidate Syeda Ananya Faria withdrew from the post of GS at the last minute.

On the other hand, Amartya Roy, a VP candidate from the left-leaning Sampritir Oikya panel, will not contest the polls after the Supreme Court chamber judge stayed a High Court order that had directed the JU authorities to allow him to participate.

The total number of voters in the election is 11,919, of which 48.8 percent are female students.

Since Tuesday morning, the candidates have been going door to door to seek votes. The candidates hope that the students will choose a worthy candidate considering their ideals, qualifications, ethics and student-friendly work.

Talking to the media, Shakil Ali, independent alliance-backed GS candidate, said: "Students should choose those who worked on behalf of students before and after the mass uprising."

Mazharul Islam, GS candidate of the Chhatra Shibir-supported Shomonnito Shikkharthi Jote Panel, said: "I expect students to choose candidates who are qualified, morally upright and will work for the university."

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has completed all preparations for a smooth voting process.

The Commission said that a total of 224 booths will be set up in different halls. Voting will be done by ticking the ballot paper and there will be one box for every 200 ballot papers. Separate ballot boxes will be used for the central parliament and the hall parliament. A total of 67 polling agents and 67 assistant officers will be appointed from the university's teaching staff to conduct the voting smoothly.

On the other hand, more than 1,000 police personnel will be deployed at 12 gates of the university for security. Ansar members will also be on duty at the polling stations.

In the Hall Parliament elections, all the candidates won uncontested in Begum Sufia Kamal Hall and Nawab Faizunnesa Hall, so only the Central Parliament will be voted in these two halls. In Begum Sufia Kamal Hall, candidates won 10 out of 15 posts uncontested and the remaining 5 posts are vacant. In Nawab Faizunnesa Hall, candidates won 6 out of 15 posts uncontested and 9 posts are vacant.

Before the elections, 163 candidates for the Central Parliament and 403 candidates for the Hall Parliament participated in the mandatory dope test. However, 56 candidates did not participate in this test.