RUCSU Election on Schedule Despite Faculty Protest: Chief Returning Officer

A section of teachers, officers, and employees at Rajshahi University (RU) are observing a full-day work stoppage today, demanding justice over the suspension of ward quota admissions and a clash between teachers and students on Saturday. With the RUCSU election just four days away, the incident has sparked concerns about potential disruptions. However, the chief returning officer has confirmed that the election will go ahead as planned.

On Sunday morning (September 21), student campaigning was noticeably low-key, with only a few candidates seen distributing leaflets.

Mukhtar Hossain, president of the university’s Officers’ Association, clarified that the ongoing protest would not impact RUCSU. “Our movement will not affect RUCSU. We have deliberately kept RUCSU outside our programme. Our demand is that the handful of so-called students who physically assaulted the pro-vice-chancellor be identified and punished under university regulations. They even barred him from entering his residence,” he said.

RUCSU’s chief returning officer, Professor Dr Setaur Rahman, stated, “We do not believe yesterday’s incident has disrupted our electoral activities. The election commission is continuing all preparations. As RUCSU is a long-standing aspiration for our university, we seek cooperation from all stakeholders. The vice-chancellor has also directed us to proceed with all activities. The RUCSU election will take place on the 25th, and our electoral processes remain on track.”

He added, “We’ve discussed with representatives of the teachers and officers. They clarified that today’s programme stems from yesterday’s incident, and all essential services are exempt from the protest. In this context, since the RUCSU election on the 25th is an essential service, it will proceed as scheduled.”