Authorities have ruled the possibility of a revote in the Dhaka University Central Students Union election, though major panels that boycotted the elections alleging huge anomalies on Monday made such a demand taking to streets this day morning.
”The elections are over; the results are over. We must follow the democratic procedures and the DUCSU Constitution,” Vice Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman told reporters on Tuesday noon.
Flatly rejecting the re-election demand, Vice Chancellor (admin) Muhammad Samad said, “There is no possibility of holding a re-vote.”
The DUCSU voting ended on Monday amid huge irregularities including rigging, ballot-box stuffing, and boycotts by all major panels, except for the BCL that remained in the race.
The election boycotting panels of Chhatra Dal, leftist alliance, student quota movement platform and independents also announced their protests for the next day.
They have started their protests from this day morning demanding the results be scrapped and the fresh schedule be announced.
The election results were announced in the early hours of Tuesday, but the BCL was shocked as Nurul Huq Nur, who led the quota protest panel, emerged as the winner of the DUCS vice president post.
The leaders and activists of the Bangladesh Chhatra League have demanded a re-vote in the Dhaka University Central Students Union vice president election.
Taking a position in front of the residence of Vice Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman since this day morning to push for their demand, they also alleged a massive rigging in the top post election.
They also called for the rustication of Nur who they claimed was backed by the Shibir, the student wing of the Jamaat, the party whose several leaders faced war crimes trials in recent years.
BCL Deputy Library Affairs Secretary Alimul Haq said, “We have the only one demand: revote in the DUCSU VP election. We will continue our protests as long as our demand is not met.”
A BCL supporter, Pradip Chowdhury said, “The results of the DUCSU hall chapters have been announced soon after vote count at the halls, but the authorities announced the results of the election to the DUCSU central committee at the Senate Bhaban. That means that a clear rigging has taken place.”
Claiming that more than 1000 students are BCL supporters at the Zia Hall, he said, “We are shocked that only 200 votes went to the BCL VP candidate there.”
He said, “The Rashed-Nur gang vandalised the university building and in now way could they represent the 43000-plus students of the university.”
Asked about the finding of sacks filled up of ballot papers at the Ruqayyah Hall and trunks of ballot papers at the Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall, Vice Chancellor Samad said, “We have take action soon after finding the proof of the irregularities at one of the halls, but what happened at the Ruqayyah Hall was nothing but a brouhaha; no anomalies took place there.”
A five-member fact-finding committee, led by Samad, has been formed to look into the irregularities during the DUCSU election.
“The probe committee will submit its report with a few days,” he said.
When referred to allegations that the authorities had a hand behind Nuru’s win, he said, “The votes have been counted through optical mark recognition machines. That is why, there is no scope for making such allegations.”
