Dhaka University authorities on Sunday admitted that ballot papers for the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (Ducsu) election were printed at Nilkhet, as alleged by Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD).

Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmad Khan disclosed the matter at a press conference held at Abdul Matin Virtual Classroom of the university.

He said although a cooperative firm printed the ballots at Nilkhet with the permission of the main vendor, the DU administration had not been informed of the arrangement. 

Since the vendor did not inform us, we were unaware that some ballots were printed at Nilkhet. However, the place or the number of ballots printed does not influence the fairness of the election in any way, he added.

The Ducsu and hall union elections were held on September 9. According to the election commission, over 70 percent votes were cast in the polls. JCD emerged as the main challenger to Islami Chhatra Shibir but failed to win any seat.

Thirteen days after the polls, JCD brought 11 allegations of irregularities at a press conference on September 26, including the printing of ballots at a Nilkhet press, which they claimed was a violation of rules.

Explaining the process, the VC said, “After printing, ballots need to be cut to specific size, security codes imposed, pre-scanned through OMR machines, and verified with various signatures. Only after completing these steps were the ballots prepared and polling was conducted with due caution.”

He added that the main vendor had engaged a supporting firm for speedy completion of work due to a record number of voters and candidates.

But the supporting firm carried out printing in Nilkhet without informing the authorities, he said.

According to the vendor’s information, 88,000 ballots were printed using 22 reams of paper at Nilkhet, of which 86,243 were finalized after printing, cutting, and scanning. The rest were destroyed following standard procedure.

In total, 239,244 ballots were prepared for 39,874 voters, with six ballots allocated to each. Of them, 29,821 voters cast their votes, using 178,926 ballots, while 60,318 ballots remained unused.

JCD candidates alleged that before polling began, some ballots were already stamped in favor of certain panels and even carried voter signatures. They also said their requests to review CCTV footage and voter lists were not properly addressed by the authorities.

Responding to this, the VC said, “If any candidate seeks to review video footage of a particular time or incident, they may apply following due process. The footage will be observed in the presence of the university’s designated representatives or experts.”

On the voter list issue, he added, If there is a logical request to verify any signature, it may also be examined in the presence of the designated representatives.