DUCSU voting underway

The 38th Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election kicked off with voting starting at 8:00 am on Tuesday.

Prior to the voting, ballot boxes were sealed in the presence of all relevant parties.

At 7:30 am, ballot boxes were opened and sealed at eight designated centers in front of observers, including media representatives and candidates’ polling agents.

Professor Golam Rabbani, the Returning Officer, sealed two ballot boxes—one for the central parliament and another for the hall parliament—at the Nawab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban.

He stated, “You’ve witnessed that the ballot boxes were completely empty before being sealed. The larger box is for the central sangsad, while the smaller one is for the hall sangsad. These will be opened in everyone’s presence for vote counting after polling concludes.”

Students from Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall, Bijoy Ekattor Hall, and Sir AF Rahman Hall will cast their votes at the Senate Bhaban center.

This election has 39,874 registered voters, comprising 20,915 male and 18,959 female voters.

A total of 471 candidates are vying for 28 central parliament positions, with 409 male and 62 female candidates.

Additionally, 1,035 candidates are contesting 234 posts across 18 hall sangsad elections. Of these, 850 candidates are competing in 13 student halls, and 185 are contesting in 5 student halls. Each voter will cast ballots for 41 posts—28 for the central sangsad and 13 for the hall sangsad—using six-page OMR ballots. Vote counting will take place at eight centers with 14 counting machines, and results will be declared at the Nawab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban.

Candidates represent various groups, including Chhatra Dal, Chhatra Shibir, Chhatra Odhikar Parishad, Islami Chhatra Andolan, Bamjote, and independent panels.

Notably, a significant number of female candidates are running for key positions, such as Vice President (VP) and General Secretary (GS).