VP candidate Arif Ullah alleges irregularities in JUCSU ballot distribution

Md. Arif Ullah, the VP candidate from the Shibir-backed panel Samannito Shikkharthi Jote, has raised allegations that more ballot papers were supplied than the number of voters in the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) and hall union elections.

This Thursday morning, around 10:30 am, Arif Ullah casted his vote at the polling center in Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall of the university. According to the returning officer of that hall, 35 votes were cast in the first hour.

After voting, Arif Ullah raised concerns about the extra ballot papers, saying, “There are 299 registered voters in Shaheed Salam Barkat Hall. But the total number of ballot papers sent there was 400. Why were there 101 extra ballot papers? When we asked the person in charge at that center, he couldn’t give a logical explanation—he said he didn’t know why they were sent.

On the day the university administration printed the ballot papers, we got information that they printed 10% extra ballots. That day, we informed the university’s election commission and asked why there were 10% extra ballot papers. They responded by saying that some ballots might get damaged, so they printed extras.”

The VP candidate further said: “After 33 long years, the JUCSU elections are finally happening at Jahangirnagar University. We are all becoming witnesses to history. You’ve already seen how students are lining up to vote at various polling centers. But even then, we’re noticing several irregularities in different places.

The first issue that comes to mind is the presence of former students. The university administration and the election commission had clearly stated that no former student would be allowed on campus after 6 AM today.
But as you can see, former students are still roaming the campus. We’re seeing them near various polling centers. This raises concerns for us.”