SUCSU Standoff Settled: Students Secure Deadline for Election Decision

Following a night-long protest against the directive issued by the Bangladesh Election Commission, students and the SUCSU Election Commission finally held discussions with the administration of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) late at night.

After extended talks, all parties reached a decision in the early hours of 13 January, Tuesday. As per the agreement, the university administration must convey a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the Bangladesh Election Commission regarding the SUCSU election by 5:00 pm the same day.

The unrest began after the Election Commission issued a notice on Monday night, stating that no elections could be held before the national parliamentary polls. The news sparked campus-wide student protests, with activities continuing throughout the night at various university locations. Both Chhatra Dal and Chhatra Shibir organized demonstrations near the VC building and SUCSU election office. During the protests, the VP candidate of Bijoy-24 Hall suffered a cardiac incident and was hospitalized at Mount Adora.

SUCSU election commissioners appeared before students in the middle of the night but were unable to convince them. The matter was then escalated to the Pro Vice-Chancellor, who met first with the election commissioners and later with the students in the administrative building.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor explained that the Vice-Chancellor was in Dhaka and that the directive came from the Election Commission. While the Vice-Chancellor would review the matter upon return, students remained firm, demanding a definitive answer on whether the election would take place on 20 January.

Eventually, the Chief Election Commissioner instructed the Pro Vice-Chancellor to contact the Vice-Chancellor immediately and ensure a resolution at the Election Commission by 10:00 am the next morning. Students agreed to this approach but set a strict deadline of 5:00 pm for the administration to communicate the final decision.

DBTech/ADO/OR