Each student, voting in the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) and hall union elections, will have to cast 38 votes, on two ballots, to elect 38 representatives.
The polls are scheduled for 8am to 2pm on March 11.
A total of 42,923 voters from 18 Dhaka University (DU) halls will get six hours to cast their ballots, to elect representatives in 25 Ducsu positions and 13 hall union posts. According to sources, a voter will not have more than three minutes to cast 38 votes.
So, around 20 students will be able to vote each hour. There are concerns about whether voters will be able to cast 38 votes in under just three minutes.
Responding to a query, Chief Returning Officer Professor SM Mahfuzur Rahman said a press release will soon be issued, providing clear instructions in this regard.
A total of 229 candidates are vying for 25 positions. Among them, 21 are vying for vice president, 14 for general secretary, and 13 for assistant general secretary.
In the hall union elections, a total of 509 candidates are vying for 13 positions in each of the 18 halls.
According to sources from the university administration, there will be two ballot papers for the students to cast their votes, one for Ducsu positions, and another for the hall union posts.
Claiming that around 43,000 voters will not be able to cast their votes within just six hours, a number of candidates in the Ducsu and hall union elections have demanded an extension to the voting time.
Currently, Students will exercise their franchise in the polls from 8am to 2pm on March 11.
‘Not possible’
"It is not possible for 43,000 voters to cast their votes within six hours. That is why we have urged the authorities to extend the voting hours," said ARM Asifur Rahman, an independent general secretary aspirant at the Ducsu polls, while talking to journalists at DU’s Madhur Canteen on Thursday.
He also claimed the university administration is hatching a plot to stage a one-sided election.
"From the beginning, the university administration is working in favour of a particular student wing, without paying any heed to logical demands," he alleged.
Chhatra Federation-backed central general secretary candidate Umme Habiba Benajir echoed Asif’s comments on the voting time extension, saying each voter would have to cast 38 votes in the Ducsu and hall union polls, which is not possible in just six hours.
Meanwhile, Swadikar Shatantra Parishad, an independent panel, proposed the set up a total of 357 polling booths at dormitories, so that students can cast their votes within the timeframe.