HC clears way for Ducsu polls

The High Court today cleared the way for holding election to Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) election slated for March 11.

The court said the schedule for holding Ducsu election will remain as it is.

The High Court bench of Justice Syed Rifaat Ahmed and Justice Md Iqbal Kabir Lytton said this during hearing a writ petition filed by Fahmida Mazid, a postgraduate student of international relations department and female student affairs secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) central executive committee.

Today, the HC asked the returning officer for Ducsu to dispose of the application filed by Fahmida for including her name in the voters’ list in 24 hours.

The court also issued a rule asking the government and DU authorities to explain why the Ducsu polls schedule excluding the name of Fahmida in the voters’ list should not be declared illegal.

In the petition, she challenged the legality of the election saying that there are “anomalies” in the voter list, as her and several others' names have not been included.

Fahmida also said that due to the anomaly in the voters' list, she cannot contest the election.

THE DUCSU POLLS SCHEDULE

On February 11, 2019, DU authorities announced the schedule for elections to Ducsu and hall unions saying the polls will be held on March 11 with polling centres set up at the dormitories.

The final list of candidates will be published on March 3, while the supplementary voter list will be published on March 5.

Since the dissolution of Ducsu in 1998, several attempts were made to arrange the election but all in vain. The last polls to Ducsu and hall unions took place in 1990.