Dhaka University administration has decided not to release the voter attendance lists from the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) election, terming them “extremely sensitive and confidential.”
The university has also classified the election’s CCTV footage as “private documents,” according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
The statement, signed by the deputy director of DU’s Public Relations Department, outlined the administration’s response to applications and complaints submitted after the polls. “We feel it is appropriate to respond at this time to the allegations made at a press conference organized by a student organization on Monday,” it said.
On Monday, the Abid-Hamim-Mayed panel, backed by Chhatra Dal, alleged 11 irregularities, including administrative bias, signatures being provided before voters arrived, ballot supply and printing favoring certain panels, failure to disclose numbers of used and returned ballots, polling agents unable to enter centers due to delayed ID provision, non-transparent ballot boxes, and the use of ballpoint pens due to lack of markers.
Addressing requests for CCTV access, DU statement said: “CCTV footage is not a public document,” adding that stored footage is used for election-related evidence and documentation. However, candidates may view specific clips at designated locations in the presence of officials after submitting proper applications.
Regarding signed voter lists, the administration said: “This is an extremely sensitive and confidential list. There is no provision in Ducsu election regulations for providing copies of this.” It added that releasing such information would not be “appropriate in the interest of protecting students’ security and privacy.”
The statement further noted that the identity of ballot paper printing establishments had been “deliberately kept confidential,” calling such confidentiality an “accepted practice.” It stressed that the ballot printing process was carried out “completely confidentially,” leaving “no opportunity for them to remain unprotected.”
The authorities also rejected allegations that ballot papers had been printed at Nilkhet shops, saying the OMR machine scanning process “is not possible” there. They added: “Neither before nor after the election, nor during counting, did any polling agents, observers, journalists, or others related to the candidates raise any complaints about this matter.”
“The university authorities do not believe there is any basis for such allegations about ballot paper printing made two weeks after the election,” the statement also said, adding that all applications and complaints had been examined and responses would be provided in due course.