JUCSU election: Voting begins at 9am, final preparations underway
After 33 years, the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election is about to begin. Voting will start today, Thursday, at 9:00am in the university’s 21 residential halls and will continue until 5:00pm.
In the final moments before the election begins, preparations are underway across the campus.
Around 8:00am, a visit to the site showed that returning officers and other election officials were making final arrangements at the polling centres inside the residential halls.
In the university’s new administrative building area, APBn (Armed Police Battalion) and regular police personnel were seen gathering. They were being assigned to specific locations across the campus for election-day duties.
Dhaka District Superintendent of Police Anisuzzaman said, "So far, there are no security concerns. Compared to the other gates, more outsiders are likely to try to enter through the Gerua Gate. That’s why additional law enforcement personnel have been deployed in that area."
The last (ninth) JUCSU election was held in 1992. In this year's election, there are a total of 11,743 registered voters. Voting will take place in 21 residential halls — 11 for male students and 10 for female students.
According to sources from the Election Commission, each of the 21 polling centres will have one returning officer, with a total of 67 polling officers and 67 assistant polling officers deployed for the election.
Additionally, at least 1,000 police personnel will be stationed at key gates and important areas across the campus. However, most of them will be positioned outside the campus. Inside the polling centres, Ansar members will be on duty.
To monitor security at the centres, around 80 CCTV cameras have been installed. These will be used to monitor the polling environment under the supervision of the Election Commission. A monitoring team made up of senior faculty members, the proctorial body, and campus security officers will be responsible for overall supervision. Two magistrates will also be on duty.
Ballot papers have been printed as follows: 3 pages for the JUCSU central election, 2 pages for voting in two specific halls, and 1 page each for the rest of the halls.
Professor Mafruhi Sattar, a member of the JUCSU Election Commission, said: "If a voter makes a mistake on the ballot paper for any reason and immediately informs the responsible election officials, the spoiled ballot will be canceled and the voter will be given a new one to cast their vote. For this reason, some extra ballot papers have been printed."
He added that ballot suppliers usually count 100 ballots as one set, so a few additional ballots had to be printed to match these set units. However, each polling centre will be provided with ballot papers based on the number of registered voters. If additional ballots are required, the Election Commission will make a decision accordingly.
Depending on the number of candidates, ballot papers have been printed in three-page, two-page, and single-page formats.