Bangladesh: Chittagong University suspends poll results amid allegations of voting irregularities

Dhaka: Bangladesh’s Chittagong University on Thursday suspended the student union election results of two halls following allegations of voting irregularities and post-election unrest, shortly after the radical Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing, Islami Chhatra Shibir, claimed victory, local media reported.

The Shibir-backed candidates won key posts, including vice-president, general secretary, and 22 other positions in the Chittagong University Central Students’ Union election (CUCSU).

Election Commission member-secretary AKM Ariful Haque said that the results of Atish Dipankar Srigyan Hall and Suhrawardy Hall at Chittagong University would be recounted on Thursday afternoon and published later, without providing details on the reason for the recount, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper, The Daily Star, reported.

Reports suggest that tensions erupted during the result announcement at Suhrawardy Hall after an uproar broke out between Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s (BNP) student wing, Chhatra Dal, and Shibir activists in the early hours of Thursday in front of the Faculty of Engineering building.

Amid the unrest, Pro Vice-Chancellor Md Kamal Hossain was reportedly detained by protesting students and released about two and a half hours later.

Leaders and activists of Chhatra Dal alleged that their vice presidential candidate, Jamadiul Awal, lost the election due to vote manipulation.

On Wednesday night, a senior police official was injured while attempting to control unrest between local Jamaat and BNP activists at the Chittagong University’s main gate over the CUCSU election.

Speaking to Daily Star, the injured officer Kazi Tarek Aziz said, “We were trying to disperse both groups by talking to them, but suddenly one group started throwing brickbats at us, leaving me injured in the head.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the university’s Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Monir Uddin lashed out at the authorities over the unavailability of indelible ink ahead of the CUCSU elections, terming it a reflection of “national incompetence.”

These latest developments come amid mounting concerns over voting irregularities in students’ union elections held at universities across the country.

Last month, several student leaders rejected the results of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election, calling them a “planned fraud”, as the Shibir-backed candidates won key posts.

Similarly, the Chhatra Dal announced a boycott of the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election held last month, citing voting irregularities and other concerns.

These student leaders earlier collaborated with Muhammad Yunus and several political outfits to overthrow the democratically elected Awami League government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

IANS