Voting underway in JnUCSU polls

Voting in the Jagannath University Central Students’ Union (JnUCSU) and Hall Council elections began for the first time on Tuesday morning. Polling started at 9:00 am and will continue uninterrupted until 4:00 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside the polling centres from early morning.

A total of 16,645 students are eligible to vote in this year’s JnUCSU elections. According to the Election Commission, voting is taking place across 178 booths at 39 centres within the university.

A total of 157 candidates are contesting for 21 posts in the JnUCSU, while 33 candidates are running for 13 posts in the Hall Council. Hall students must cast separate votes for the Hall Council and the Central Students’ Union.

After voting concludes, the ballots will be counted using six OMR machines, and the results will be announced at the central auditorium. The counting process will also be displayed live on LED screens.

The JnUCSU elections were originally scheduled for December 30 but were postponed by the university administration through an emergency syndicate meeting following the death of former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. After student protests, the new election date was set for January 6.

Notable contesting panels include the Chhatra Dal-backed “Oikkoboddho Nirbhik Jobian,” the Chhatra Shibir-supported “Odommo Jobian Oikko,” the Chhatra Shakti-backed “Oikkoboddho Jobian,” and the leftist-supported Maulana Bhasani Brigade panel. In addition, there are independent candidates and a few partial panels contesting in the elections.