RUCSU election to be held as scheduled, confirms CEC

The Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU) election will be held as scheduled, Chief Election Commissioner AF Najrul Islam has confirmed. He informed Jago News about this on Sunday (September 21) afternoon.

He said, “The RUCSU election will be held on September 25 as scheduled. The Election Commission is making preparations accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the university’s teachers, officers, and staff are observing a full-day strike on campus. They announced the programme demanding justice over the incident on Saturday, when teachers and students were involved in an altercation. With the strike taking place just four days before the election, concerns have arisen among students.

On the other hand, students were not seen campaigning much in the morning. However, several candidates were observed campaigning and distributing leaflets in the afternoon.

Muktar Hossain, president of the University Officers’ Association, said, “Our movement will not affect the RUCSU election. We have kept RUCSU outside our program. Our demand is that the individuals posing as students, who physically assaulted the university’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor—even preventing him from entering his residence—must be identified and punished under university law.”

Regarding the overall situation, RUCSU election’s Chief Returning Officer Professor Dr. Setaur Rahman said, “We do not believe that any of our election activities have been disrupted. All election activities are ongoing under the Election Commission. Since RUCSU has long been an expectation at our university, we seek cooperation from all parties. The Vice-Chancellor has also instructed us to continue all activities. The RUCSU election will be held on the 25th, and all election activities are ongoing.”

He added, “We have spoken with representatives of teachers and staff. They said that their programme today was based on yesterday’s incident. All essential services are exempt from their movement.”