Voting in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (Jucsu) and hall parliament elections ended peacefully and in a festive atmosphere on Tuesday.
Polling concluded simultaneously at 3pm at all 39 centres across the university, after beginning at 9am.
From early morning, students were seen entering the campus in long queues, creating a vibrant and celebratory environment. A significant turnout of female students was also observed. To ensure a free and fair election, law enforcement personnel were deployed alongside members of the university administration.
For the convenience of voters, university buses operated on all routes at scheduled times in the morning. Many students arrived on campus from distant areas as early as 8:30am.
Students expressed enthusiasm at being able to vote in the first Jucsu election of their lives. While some initially had concerns about the process, they said the polls were ultimately conducted in a fair and impartial manner.
Sanjida Afrin, a student of the Department of Islamic History and Culture, said she travelled from Cumilla to cast her vote. “I stood in a long queue despite the cold. It feels good to vote for the first time in my life,” she said.
Mujahid, a student of the Bengali Department, said the turnout reflected the importance of Jucsu to students. “Despite the foggy winter morning, I came to vote. The campus atmosphere was festive. Now we are waiting for the results,” he added.
Vote counting began after polling ended, using the OMR system. A total of 157 candidates contested the Jucsu central parliament and 33 candidates ran for the hall parliament.
There are 16,735 registered voters for the central parliament and 1,247 for the hall parliament. In total, 38 polling stations were set up for the central parliament and one for the hall parliament, with 190 candidates contesting 34 posts.
