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Voting got underway at the JUCSU polls at Jahangirnagar University slightly after the scheduled time. Few voters had lined up outside the polling centres to cast their ballots.
The election was scheduled to open at 9 am on Thursday at 21 polling stations in various halls and academic buildings of the university, but 15-20 minutes passed before ballot papers and other equipment were brought in to start voting.
As per the rules, empty ballot boxes were shown to journalists and then sealed and prepared for voting.
However, since there were not many voters outside the centres in the morning, the polling officials were not in much of a hurry.
Election officials are expecting voter turnout to increase as the day progresses, reports bdnews24.com.
Voting began at 9:25 am at the university's Shaheed Rafiq-Jabbar Hall centre. Around 20 voters were seen waiting in line.
Mahabubur Rahman Bhuiyan, the returning officer of the hall, told bdnews24.com that it takes some time to collect signatures on the ballot papers.
Thirteen students voted at this centre as of 9:40 am. The centre has a total of 650 voters.
Mahabubur said, “We are still monitoring the situation. We hope that voters will come till the last minute.”
Voting began at 9:15 am at Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall. There are 299 voters at this centre.
The centre’s returning officer, SM Moudud Ahmed, said, “Five people have voted from when polls opened till 9:40 am. We hope that the number of voters will gradually increase.”
Three more students were seen waiting in the voting line at this centre.
About 12,000 students will have the chance to cast their ballots until 5 pm.
Student council elections, held after the July Uprising and before the general election, are receiving particular scrutiny this time. Following the election at Dhaka University, all eyes have turned to the JUCSU polls at the campus in Savar, near Dhaka.
The Election Commission says it has made all preparations for a fair and impartial election. Overall, authorities expect the vote to be held in a festive atmosphere.
The candidates also called for everyone to come and cast their ballots at the polling centres. However, some of them expressed their concerns over the security during the voting.
As many as 177 candidates are vying for 25 posts in the central council, while 445 are contesting the hall council posts.
Students say that authorities cancelled exams on Tuesday, and although academic classes were scheduled, most departments did not hold classes. Both classes and exams were suspended on Wednesday. Thursday is the election day, while Friday and Saturday are weekly holidays. The five-day holiday stretch has encouraged some students at the university – a fully residential one – to leave the halls.
The number of posts in 10 female students’ halls stands at 150. Only 38 of the posts are being contested, while the others are left empty or candidates are being chosen uncontested. This could be a factor in the election, students believe. Jamin Haider, a voter in the JUCSU polls, expected 60 per cent of the votes to be cast.
“Initially, I thought 55 per cent of votes would be cast,” he said. “However, the voter turnout may increase following the excitement of the DUCSU election.”