Inside Shibir’s Ducsu domination: What the numbers reveal

In an election that drew around 75 percent of registered voters, Islami Chhatra Shibir defied all pre-poll forecasts with a landslide victory in the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) election.

Forecasts leading up to the election had suggested that Shibir had a "fixed vote bank". If non-residential voters turned up, their numbers would fall, and Shibir would struggle even further to garner the female vote.

However, the results broke all polls predictions.

For the 15 top central committee posts, Shibir-backed candidates won 131,635 votes, almost equal to the combined total of the next four panels, which together secured 137,120.

However, the numbers does not represent the real picture, but rather a fragmented one since not all panels fielded candidates for all posts. Also, many voters submitted partial ballots.

Female halls break stereotypes

Contrary to popular belief, Shibir's strongest asset were the female voters. Of the five female halls, Shibir-backed candidate, Vice President-elect Shadik Kayem, won his record highest in three halls.

From only five female dorms, he collected 5,224 votes, outstripping the total votes of rivals Shamim Hossain (3,883), Umama Fatema (3,389), and Abdul Kader (1,103).

Liberation War secretary race delivers surprise twist

Another unexpected result emerged in the contest for the post of Liberation War and Democratic Movement Affairs secretary. Shibir-backed candidate Fatima Tasnim Zuma secured nearly twice the votes (10,631 or 42%) compared to the three other major panels combined (5,582 or 22% ).

Despite the backlash over controversial remarks regarding the Liberation War and her panel's links to a photo exhibition featuring convicted war criminals last month, Zuma won by a huge margin of 8,161 votes compared to her nearest rival candidate Ariful -- the third-largest victory gap of the election.

End of the road for Bagchas?

The Bangladesh Ganatantrik Chhatra Sangsad (Bagchas), student wing of the NCP, endured a crushing defeat. Its combined vote tally for the 15 central posts was less than a quarter of Shibir's total vote count.

Even former ally Umama Fatema led independent panel, outperformed Bagchas candidates across the board. In the three top positions -- VP, GS and AGS -- Bagchas contenders failed to break into the top three in any race.

Silver linings for progressives and independents

Despite the Shibir sweep, other panels found reasons to celebrate. Leftist alliance Pratirodh Parishad saw its general secretary candidate Meghmallar Bosu take 4,949 votes, up from just 1,747 combined votes for its top three candidates in the previous election.

Progressive circles also rejoiced the victory of Hema Chakma, the sole non-Shibir-backed candidate from major panels to secure a senate seat. In a historic breakthrough, she became the first woman from the Chittagong Hill Tracts to be elected.

Meanwhile, independent contender Umama Fatema, once tipped as a VP frontrunner, fell short as votes in female halls split between her panel and another independent. Yet, three of her teammates, including two from the Chittagong Hill Tracts, finished ahead of her in vote counts.

(Data is based on the official results published by the Dhaka University authority on September 10)