‘You didn’t win – we made a mistake in our calculations, please forgive us’

JU Correspondent

Ashraful Islam won the post of dining and canteen secretary of Shahid Rafiq-Jabbar Hall. Shortly after the results of the Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) election were announced, the hall provost told him on his mobile phone: ‘You did not win, there was a mistake in the calculation, we are sorry, please forgive us.’

The four candidates for the post of dining and canteen secretary of the hall received a total of 509 votes. However, the total votes cast in the hall were 469. Since the results were announced last Saturday, various inconsistencies have been detected in the counting of votes in the hall assembly.

Ashraful Islam won the post of dining and canteen secretary of Shahid Rafiq-Jabbar Hall with 132 votes. His three closest rivals were Lutfar Rahman Rifat (129), Md. Yusuf (125) and Md. Abu Sayem (123). The votes of the four candidates amounted to 509, which is 40 more than the total votes received by the hall.

In this regard, candidate Ashraful Islam said, “I was declared the winner by the Election Commission. Later, the hall provost informed me on his mobile phone that there was a mistake in the counting. I got 92 votes, but I could not win. It is unfortunate that the result was wrong even after all this time.”

Hall Provost Professor Abdus Sattar Joy said, “There was a mistake in the counting here. We regret it. Basically, the votes were counted in two tiles. There, the number four was counted as the English eight. That is why such a mistake occurred.”

According to the returning officer of Jahana Imam Hall, a total of 242 votes were cast in the hall. However, the results of the Election Commission mention that 247 people voted, which is five more than the previous result. Lamia Jannat and Sadia Jannat contested for the AGS post in this hall and received 113 votes. The Election Commission declared both of them winners and asked them to take charge for six months and one year each. However, one of Lamia Jannat’s votes was cancelled because the ‘tick mark’ of the vote went outside the specified box. However, it is learnt that it was not cancelled in the case of other halls.

Lamia Jannat said, “My vote was cancelled just because the ‘tick mark’ went a little outside the box. But this did not happen in other halls. Since the votes were counted manually, this vote should not be cancelled. I was wronged.”

Nasrin Khatun, the hall’s returning officer, said, “We have been told by the Election Commission that if you go outside the designated area, your vote will be canceled. So that vote has been canceled.”

Analyzing the votes from Maulana Bhashani Hall, it is seen that Neehla Aung Marma, who was elected as an executive member of the Central Parliament from the ‘Sampritir Oikya’ panel, received zero votes, which was questioned by a voter named Relang Khumi. He wrote on Facebook, ‘My close younger brother Neehla Aung Marma could not win. He did not get a single vote from Maulana Bhashani Hall. But I voted for him.

When contacted about this, Relang Khumi said, “In Bhasani Hall, we have the votes of the tribal community. Neehla Aung Marma’s friends also have them, but despite that, I saw that she got zero votes. But I myself voted for her.”

Regarding the overall issue, Chief Election Commissioner Professor Moniruzzaman said, “The returning officer in charge will look into the issue of errors in vote counting. It is not our responsibility, we have declared the result sheet that has come to us. Now, if there is any question about the result, a written complaint will have to be submitted to the president (vice-chancellor) of JAKSUR.”

Vote irregularities in 18 candidates in DUCSU elections

A discrepancy has been detected in the hall-wise counting of votes of 18 candidates in the centrally published results of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) elections. It showed 9 fewer votes and 9 more votes.

Some candidates expressed their anger on Facebook, but Chief Returning Officer Professor Jasim Uddin called it a typing error and assured that it would be corrected. Earlier, in the results announced on September 9, Shibir-backed candidates won 26 seats.