The vote counting for the Jahangirnagar University (JU) Central Students’ Union (Jucsu) election is still ongoing, even though the election itself has concluded.
Voting took place on Thursday, starting at 9am and ending at 5pm. Since the start of the manual counting process, over 42 hours have passed.
At the 21 polling centers, a total of 224 booths were set up, staffed by 21 returning officers, 67 polling officers, and 67 assistant polling officers. During the counting, returning officers, election commissioners, and teachers cross-checked each ballot to prevent errors or irregularities.
According to the election commission, the prolonged counting is primarily due to the manual process, the absence of digital machines, and other logistical factors.
A total of 32,000 ballots are being counted: Hall Union: Initially, about 8,000 ballots were counted. Central Union: Each voter received three ballots, bringing the total to nearly 24,000 ballots.
Thus, 32,000 ballots are being manually counted. As of Saturday, at noon, counting had been underway for 42 hours.
Each ballot is manually tallied, with cross-checks and additional verification. According to the Election Commission, an average of 760 ballots is processed per hour.
A total of 8 panels participated in this year’s election. 5 panels boycotted the election, alleging vote rigging.
The remaining 3 panels are demanding the results: Shikkharthi Oikko Forum (supported by Bagchas), Swatantra Shikkharthi Sammilan (Independent Panel), Somonnito Shikkharthi Jote (supported by Islami Chhatra Shibir)
By Saturday noon, counting in 19 of 21 halls has been completed, with the remaining two still underway.
In most positions, including General Secretary (GS) and Assistant General Secretary (AGS), candidates supported by Shibir are leading.
Vice President (VP), Cultural Secretary, Social Service Secretary, and Sports Secretary positions are currently led by independent candidates.
Despite the progress, students are still anxiously awaiting the final results and speculating over the possible outcomes.
