Three teachers from Jahangirnagar University, affiliated with the Nationalist Teachers’ Forum, boycotted the Jucsu election on Thursday, citing alleged irregularities and vote rigging.
They left polling centers before 4pm and later held a press briefing outside the Election Commission office.
While observing voting at Hall 15, Prof Nahrin Islam Khan of the Department of Geography and Environment said: “From the very beginning, various irregularities have been taking place. While monitoring, I noticed that after casting votes, no ink was applied to the voters. Those responsible for applying the ink were kept outside the booth. Moreover, a ballot paper was found outside the booth without any signature. When I reported the overall situation to the hall’s Returning Officer, Shabnam Ferdousi, she paid no attention and behaved disrespectfully toward me.”
He added, “We should not bear responsibility for such an election. From a position of protest, we, as responsible teachers, have decided to boycott this election.”
Professors Nazrul Islam and Shamima Sultana were also present at the briefing.
Earlier in the day, candidates from the BNP-backed Chhatra Dal panel announced their boycott of the election, citing similar allegations. At a press conference around 3:45pm at Maulana Bhasani Hall, GS candidate Tanzila Hossain Boishakhi and other panel members declared their withdrawal from the polls.
