Desk Report,
During the meeting, the Home Affairs Advisor received a call from the Chief Advisor, but did not receive a message regarding the DUCSU vote.
A meeting was held at the Home Ministry on Monday afternoon regarding the overall preparations for the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections and the law and order situation. Home Affairs Advisor Lieutenant General (retd) Jahangir Alam Chowdhury was presiding over the meeting.
During the meeting, the Home Affairs Advisor received a call from the Chief Advisor, but did not receive a message regarding the DUCSU vote.
During the meeting, Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus called the Home Affairs Advisor. Unable to answer the phone, he left a message on his mobile phone regarding the DUCSU elections. Later, the Home Affairs Advisor read out the Chief Advisor’s message to everyone present at the meeting. In the message, the Chief Advisor instructed to vote in a free, fair, impartial and festive atmosphere. He asked to give utmost importance to the elections. The message also said that the entire nation is looking forward to the DUCSU elections. The Chief Advisor urged everyone to extend their full cooperation in this democratic journey. Two government policymakers present at the meeting confirmed this information to Prothom Alo.
Education Advisor CR Abrar, Legal Advisor Asif Nazrul, Public Works Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan were present in the meeting. Apart from this, two special assistants to the Chief Advisor Khoda Baksh Chowdhury, Lieutenant General (retd.) Abdul Hafiz, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Niaz Ahmed Khan, Proctor Saifuddin Ahmed, Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Sheikh Md. Sazzat Ali, RAB Director General AKM Shahidur Rahman and representatives of various organizations were present.
The meeting, which started at 3 pm and lasted for about an hour and a half, discussed the overall preparations for the DUCSU elections and the law and order situation. At the beginning of the meeting, the Home Affairs Advisor said that the student union elections of other universities will depend on the DUCSU elections. At the same time, the upcoming thirteenth national parliament elections will be understood through the DUCSU elections. Therefore, a fair, free and peaceful environment for the DUCSU elections will be ensured at any cost.
The meeting discussed what kind of situation could arise if the winning candidates and their supporters took out a procession after the DUCSU election results were announced. One said that if they took out a procession on campus, undesirable incidents could happen. Another said that it would be difficult to stop the winners’ procession. It was then decided that the law enforcement agencies would have to provide maximum cooperation at that time.
Journalists asked Advisor Jahangir Alam Chowdhury in front of the Ministry of Home Affairs about the content of the meeting. However, he did not comment on the matter. Later, Dhaka University Vice Chancellor Niaz Ahmed Khan told reporters that the details of the much-awaited DUCSU elections were discussed in the meeting. There is no major threat to the elections. However, there are some obstacles. He said that transparency is its biggest strength in this election. In a fair election, police and Ansar members will be present along with their own volunteers. Overall, he expressed hope that the elections will be fair.
