A total of 1,088 candidates have collected nomination papers to contest 232 positions in the long-awaited Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) and hall union elections, scheduled for October 12.
According to Election Commissioner and Member Secretary Professor A.K.M. Ariful Haque Siddiqui, 488 candidates are vying for 26 CUCSU posts, while 600 candidates are competing for 206 hall and hostel posts across 14 halls and one hostel.
“Today we saw a huge rush of students, but no untoward incident occurred. If this situation continues, we are hopeful the CUCSU election will be held peacefully,” said Professor Siddiqui at a press briefing on Tuesday night at the CUCSU building.
Hall-wise Breakdown
Among male students’ halls, 452 candidates collected forms, with the highest number from Sohrawardy Hall (75) and the lowest from Shaheed Abdur Rab Hall (37). From the female students’ halls, 148 candidates collected forms, including 39 from Bijoy 24 Hall and 14 from Nawab Faizunnesa Hall. For Shilpi Abdur Rashid Hostel, 25 candidates collected nomination papers.
Panels Declared
So far, three panels have been announced for the central union polls:
- Droho Parishad (joint panel of Bangladesh Chhatra Union and Socialist Students’ Front)
- CUCSU for Rapid Change (Students’ Rights Council)
- Shocheton Shikkharthi Sangsad (Islami Chhatra Andolon)
In the hall elections, two panels have been announced:
- Hridoytar Bondhon at Nawab Faizunnesa Hall, led by indigenous women students (14 candidates filed).
- Songghoboddho Chhatri Jote, supported by Islami Chhatri Sangstha, at Pritilata Hall (12 candidates filed).
Next Steps
The last date for nomination submission is Wednesday. Scrutiny of forms will take place on September 18, with the preliminary list of candidates published on September 21 and the final list on September 25.
Voting will be held on October 12, from 9 AM to 4 PM.
This will mark the first CUCSU election in 35 years, as the last one was held in 1990.
