Cucsu polls return today after 35yrs

The Chittagong University Central Students' Union (Cucsu) and hall union elections are set to take place today after a gap of 35 years, becoming the third public university to hold such polls after the political changeover in August last year.

A total of 908 candidates are vying for 40 posts: 415 are contesting for 26 Cucsu posts and 493 for 14 hall union posts. The total number of voters is 27,521.

Polling will begin from 9:00am and end at 4:00pm at the 15 centres set up in five faculty buildings.

There will be 700 polling booths in total. Each student will receive five ballot papers. Four of them will list the Cucsu candidates and the fifth will list the hall union candidates.

Students will have a maximum of ten minutes to cast their votes, meaning they will need to cast about one vote every 20 seconds.

The university administration has arranged special shuttle train trips and additional buses to help students who live in the city reach the campus, located about 22 kilometres from the city, near Hathazari upazila.

Out of the university's 14 entry gates, seven will remain closed on election day. Students can enter only by showing their identity cards. To prevent outsiders from entering the campus, security arrangements have been made at 24 points.

"Managing such a large election has been a new experience for the teachers and administration," said Ali R Raji, assistant professor at the university's journalism department.

Transparent ballot boxes and ballot papers have been prepared, said Monir Uddin, the chief election commissioner.

Enough time has been allocated for voters and all secret voting rooms will be under CCTV monitoring, he said, adding that the footage will be stored even if the electricity goes out.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has fined the Islami Chhatra Shibir-backed panel 'Sompriti Shikkharthir Jote' Tk 20,000 for violating the code of conduct. Activists of the panel used loudspeakers inside classrooms for campaigning.

So far, nearly 20 complaints about code of conduct violations have been submitted to the Election Commission office and several candidates and panels were warned after reviewing the complaints.

"Several punitive measures have been taken, but we are not making them public for now," said Amir Mohammad Nasrullah, head of the code of conduct committee.

The details will be shared after the election, he said.

"The preparations seem fair and well-organised," Raji said.

If students can vote smoothly and the results are announced transparently, it will be a significant step toward running the institution in a democratic way.

"Whoever wins should ensure that the next Cucsu election is held again within a year -- otherwise, this initiative will lose its value," he added.

The students echoed the same as Raji, who view the election as the starting point for accountability on campus.

If Cucsu elections take place regularly, the campus will remain under the influence of the student body, said Mirza Hasib, a fourth-year journalism student.

The administration will have to be accountable and the leaders will be answerable to the students.

When elections are irregular, the student leaders often gain too much unchecked power, he said, while hoping for a peaceful, orderly environment on campus today for the polls.

"There has been a long period of dominance-based politics on campus and students want this to end," said Faruk Ahmed, a journalism student.

The Cucsu should play the central role in student politics and elections must take place regularly, he added.

"If the voting is transparent, we will get proper representation -- this will reduce one-sided decision-making by the administration and create accountability and openness," said Tasnuba Haque, a first-year marketing student.

Students face many problems on campus but cannot always speak to the administration directly, said Manjur Ahmed, a second-year physics student.

If Cucsu functions properly, student representatives can raise these issues to the authorities.

"Many campus problems are unknown to the administration while students face them every day, so the election is very important for solving practical issues."