Voters in Tuesday’s Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) and hall union elections will face strict restrictions, as authorities have banned bags, mobile phones, smartwatches, electronic devices, water bottles and any liquid items inside polling centers.

The instructions came in a notification issued by the office of the Chief Returning Officer, aimed at ensuring discipline and transparency during the polling process.

Polling will be held on Tuesday (Sept 9) from 8am to 4pm across eight centers of the university. A total of 39,874 students are eligible to vote in the long-awaited election. Among them, 20,915 voters are from 13 male dormitories and 18,959 from five female dormitories.

This year, 471 candidates are contesting for 28 positions in the central union, while 1,035 candidates are vying for 234 posts across 18 hall unions, according to the Election Commission.

The Election Commission has also announced that ballot boxes will be displayed empty and sealed in front of journalists before voting begins, while the counting process will be shown live on LED screens to maintain transparency.