Returning officer blames university administration for JU teacher’s death

Professor Sultana Akter, returning officer for Foyzunnesa Hall in the JUCSU election, voiced strong criticism over manual vote counting and held the university administration and the election commission responsible for the death of teacher Jannatul Ferdous.

She expressed her grievance at a press conference on Friday (September 12) afternoon in front of the Senate Bhaban.

“If the count had been completed yesterday and results declared, we would not have had to witness my colleague’s death or shed these tears. My colleague died because of the election commission’s mismanagement. I want justice for her death. I hold the administration responsible for this fiasco and demand compensation for Jannatul Ferdous’s family,” she said.

The returning officer added that another teacher from the fine arts department, Kazi Mohsin, who is also a returning officer, has fallen ill. “Then how will the count proceed? Why was the manual method adopted in the first place? Even after switching to manual counting, why were hall counts not completed? If hall counts had been done, results in various halls could have been ready by 10pm; and once brought to the election commission, results could have been declared by 11pm,” she said.

Describing the inhuman workload that preceded her colleague’s death, she said: “I too could have been there. We have been working since the 10th. From 7am we each went to our respective halls and gave 100 per cent effort to ensure a fair process. We tried to prevent any irregularity.”

She outlined how teacher Jannatul Ferdous was called to help with counting. “She may have been unable to sleep from stress, as I could not. As far as I know, she hurriedly came after being called. She could not answer her phone due to illness and was brought in by phone. A colleague from Pritilata Hall told me that while hurrying up to the third floor she hit the door and fell; she seems to have died shortly after,” Professor Sultana Akter said.

Demanding a change from manual counting, she pointed out the impracticality: “A single ballot suffices for hall councils, but in JUCSU each voter casts three votes. If 8,000 votes were cast, that means 24,000 votes must be counted. How is that possible manually? We want this method changed. We cannot endure this physical and mental strain.”