Ducsu polls: Nur demands re-election by March 31

Newly-elected Vice President of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu) Nurul Haque Nur has demanded re-election to all posts by March 31.

Nur, also a popular leader of the quota reform movement, said this while talking to reporters in front of Haji Muhammad Mohsin Hall on the university campus this afternoon.

He said, “Despite all sorts of rigging, they (Bangladesh Chhatra League) could not defeat Akhter Hossain and me from my panel. However, they have defeated the others implementing a blueprint.”

“All the other organisations except Chhatra League are pressing for re-election and they are staging demonstrations to this end. They have issued a three-day ultimatum to the vice-chancellor. As their representative, I express solidarity to their demand,” Nur said.

“I demand re-election to all the posts of Ducsu by March 31, scrapping the debatable election,” he also said.

Commenting on the alleged assault on him, Nur said, “The Provost of Ruqayyah Hall Jinat Huda called the BCL president and general secretary and they carried out the attack on me.”

Bringing allegation of gross rigging on the March 11 Ducsu election, the VP-elect said, “The activists of the ruling party-backed student organisation made the first-year and second-year students stand in the queues and waste 10 to 15 minutes while casting their votes. We noticed these sorts of irregularities.”

WHAT HAPPENED IN DUCSU ELECTION?

The 28-year-long wait to Ducsu election was marred in election boycott by all the major panels over allegations of irregularities and vote rigging.

Only Bangladesh Chhatra League was the major panel left contesting in the election.

The other panels exploded in protests after boycotting the election and protested in campus demanding a re-election to Ducsu. They also called a student strike.

Proof of irregularities was found in Bangladesh-Kuwait Maitree Hall, for which the provost was relieved of duties on Monday. Stashed unstamped ballots were found in Ruqayyah Hall.

Also, there has been alleged physical assault on Nurul Haque Nur and another attempted attack on leftists’ panel leader Liton Nandi.

Later, in the results announced in the wee hours of Tuesday, Nur was announced as the vice president, Chhatra League’s Golam Rabbani as general secretary, and Saddam Hossain as assistant general secretary.