Abidul Islam Khan, vice president candidate from the Chhatra Dal panel, got into a heated altercation with teachers when he tried to enter the vote counting centre.
Officials denied him entry, prompting the Chharta Dal activists outside to chant slogans.
A standoff unfolded at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) during the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) election as returning officers and Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) activists confronted each other amid slogans.
Chhatra Dal members alleged that Islami Chhatra Shibir men were stationed inside the centre and demanded that their leaders and journalists be allowed to observe the counting. The administration, however, insisted that no one could enter at that time.
Refusing to back down, Abid and his supporters accused teacher Nasima Begum of conspiring to rig the election, chanting slogans labelling returning officers as Shibir agents and Razakars. Several hundred JCD activists remained outside the gate, while teachers stood on the other side.
Dhaka University Chhatra Dal General Secretary Nahiduzzaman Shipon said: “There has been rigging in favor of Shibir at this centre. That is why students from Chhatra Dal and other panels want to observe the vote counting. But the administration is not listening. They are behaving in a discriminatory way. We will not leave until we are allowed to enter.”
Chhatra Dal leaders also alleged that the administration was hiding ballot boxes.
This year’s Ducsu and hall union elections were held after nearly six years. Voting began at 8am and continued uninterrupted until 4pm. A total of 39,874 students cast their votes, including 20,915 male and 18,959 female students, across 810 booths at eight centres.
A total of 471 candidates contested 28 posts, including 45 for the vice president post and 19 for general secretary. Each voter cast 41 votes using six-page OMR ballots. Vote counting took place at 14 counting machines across the 8 centres, with results announced at the Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building and shown live on LED screens.
