RUCSU Vote Counting to Use OMR, Not Manual: Chief Election Commissioner

The vote counting for the Rajshahi University Central Students’ Union (RUCSU), Senate student representatives, and hall unions will be conducted using the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) method, Chief Election Commissioner Professor Dr. F. Nazrul Islam announced on Sunday afternoon in response to journalists’ questions outside the Treasurer’s Office. This decision follows a 12-point proposal submitted yesterday by two panels, including the Chhatra Dal-supported one, demanding manual vote counting.

On Saturday, manual counting of 7,000 votes at Jahangirnagar University caused significant delays, with results still pending after two days, leading to widespread inconvenience. Addressing concerns about potential chaos with manual counting of approximately 30,000 votes at Rajshahi University, candidate Mehdi Maruf stated, “We’ve seen vote rigging with EVMs in national elections; the same could happen in RUCSU. Caricatures on EVMs could also enable rigging. We urge the administration to deploy additional manpower for manual counting.”

Chhatra Dal panel’s Vice President (VP) candidate Sheikh Nuruddin Abir added, “Counting votes via EVMs increases the risk of manipulation. As this election is happening after a long gap, we want it to be free and fair. After consulting students, we’ve submitted 12 demands, including transparent ballot boxes and manual counting. Controversies arose in DUCSU and JUCSU elections; we want to avoid that in RUCSU. With high voter numbers, the administration should increase manpower for counting. Is there a shortage of personnel at the university?”

Chief Election Commissioner Dr. F. Nazrul Islam responded, “We’ve observed the issues with manual counting at Jahangirnagar University. Despite demands from Chhatra Dal and two other organizations for manual counting, it’s not practical. RUCSU, Senate, and hall unions together have 28,905 voters. Manual counting would delay results by days. Therefore, voting will use OMR sheets, and counting will be done via OMR machines.”

Notably, RUCSU has 28,905 voters this time. In the central RUCSU union, 248 candidates are contesting, with 58 competing for Senate positions. For RUCSU, there are 18 VP candidates, 14 General Secretary (GS) candidates, and 16 Assistant General Secretary (AGS) candidates. Additionally, 600 candidates are running for hall union posts.