CUCSU polls: Chhatra Dal, Shibir face off near arts building over LED screen incident
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Tension has flared between the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Islami Chhatra Shibir near Chittagong University arts building as vote counting continues in the CUCSU polls.
Their activists confronted each other occurred on Wednesday afternoon, following a dispute over an LED screen installed outside a polling centre that suddenly went dark.
According to bdnews24.com’s correspondent Uttam Sen Gupta, who was at the scene, the screen had been broadcasting live CCTV footage from inside the polling centre as part of voting process.
Chhatra Dal alleged that the screen was deliberately turned off to allow vote rigging, while Shibir claimed Chhatra Dal activists had cut the screen’s cables in an attempt to sabotage the election.
In a related development, Droho Porshod -- a panel backed by the Bangladesh Students’ Union and Socialist Student Front -- demanded that vote counting at two centres be suspended until alleged irregularities are addressed.
Speaking at a press conference outside the CUCSU building, Rizu Luxmi Aboroadh, the panel’s vice-president candidate, said: “Twenty unsigned ballots have been found at the IT building centre, and at the BBA Faculty, a candidate from Islami Chhatri Sangstha entered the polling booth and distributed tokens.
“We are demanding that vote counting be halted at these two centres until these allegations are resolved.”
Voting was held from 9:30am to 4:00pm on Wednesday. Although polling began with a 30-minute delay, no major disturbances were reported during the voting hours.
Complaints, however, emerged throughout the day, including the use of removable ink instead of indelible ink, ballots without official signatures, campaigning inside polling booths, and delays in the opening of centres.
After polls closed, several panels called for investigations into the reported irregularities.
The panel supported by the Insaniyat Biplob Student Front, titled “Revolution for State of Humanity”, has announced that it is boycotting the election.