Let the DUCSU polls be free and fair

The elections to Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) are being held after a 28-year hiatus. That is good news indeed. These may not be the national elections, but these polls are of considerable national significance.

Student politics has close connection with national politics. And the student politics of Dhaka University is a matter of historical pride. During the rule of Pakistan, DUCSU played a lead role in the 1969 mass uprising against the military rule. In the eighties, DUCSU led the students’ movement against autocracy. Many refer to DUCSU as the country’s ‘second parliament’.

It has been near three decades that the DUCSU election has not been held. The students have long been demanding this election and there is even a writ filed with the Supreme Court in this regard. A student went to the extent of holding a hunger strike in demand of the DUCSU elections.

And now these elections are finally to be held on 11 March this year. This has given the students of sense of hope and enthusiasm. Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the Left Democratic Front and other opposition student organisations demanded that the election be postponed and that the voting not be held in the halls. The university authorities paid no attention to their demands. The student organisations finally accepted the election schedule. It is hoped that this election will be a competitive one.

Over the last two and a half decades, the trend of student politics has been that the student wing of whichever party is in power, rules the campus. The opposition student organisations are prevented from any activities. This is true both in the case of the BNP and the Awami League.

With the DUCSU elections ahead, after a long time the Dhaka University campus is teeming with leaders and activists of all student organisations. Campaigning is on in full swing. All is well for the time being, but the opposition student organisations fear this will not last. The Chhatra Dal leaders say they have only managed to enter the campus simply because the ruling party Chhatra League has allowed them to. If that is so, it is most unfortunate. All student organisations should be allowed on campus in keeping with the university rules. There should be no threats. All must keep in mind, the university is a hub of knowledge and learning, not a place to flex one’s muscle and exert one’s clout.

With the student organisations coming forward to take part in the polls, the election authorities should ensure that this election is free, fair, peaceful and neutral. The areas of suspicion and apprehension of the opposition student organisations must be dispelled. A fair election cannot be held in a controlled environment.

The university administration can ensure a free and credible election if they so want. No matter which student organisation wins in the election, they represent the 26,000 students of Dhaka University. Only once were ballot boxes snatched away in the DUCSU elections, way back in 1973, and that remains a black spot in the glorious history of the institution. We hope this is not repeated in the coming election.

If the DUCSU elections go off smoothly, we can hope for similar student elections in other educational institutions. But if this election is questionable or controversial, then like national politics, student politics will be questionable too. And the onus will lie on the shoulders of the Dhaka University authorities.