CCTV Review Conducted Following DUCSU Voting Fraud Allegations Reveals Key Findings

ছবিঃ সংগৃহীত

News Desk: The Election Commission has reviewed CCTV footage following allegations of voting irregularities by a student during the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) election. The commission stated that the student’s actions at the polling center appeared suspicious.

On Wednesday (17 September), Chief Returning Officer Professor Dr. Mohammad Jasim Uddin provided details of the incident in an official statement.

Dr. Jasim Uddin explained, “On 9 September, around 11:00 AM, the center chief at the TSC polling station informed me via phone that a female voter took a ballot from Table No. 1 and entered the booth. After over a minute, she exited and claimed that one of the ballots already had crosses marked for two candidates. She refused to cast her vote on that ballot. With the assistance of polling officers and election staff, the marked ballot was collected and stored in a separate packet, and she was issued a new ballot (Page 1). She then re-entered the booth, cast her vote, and left.”

He added, “Upon receiving this report, I instructed that the marked ballot be preserved and requested the university administration to form a committee for investigation. Three teachers present at the center were questioned, and their accounts aligned with that of the center chief. Consequently, the matter was resolved immediately without any procedural disruption. Later, we obtained the video footage, which shows the student entering the booth four times—approximately 40 seconds, 66 seconds, 2 seconds, and more than 10 minutes, respectively—before finally casting her vote and leaving the polling center.”

Dr. Jasim Uddin noted, “The repeated entries and exits from the booth, along with her interactions with multiple individuals at the center, raised questions and appeared suspicious. The matter is being examined carefully.”

The DUCSU election took place on 9 September. During voting, independent student candidate Rupaiya Shrestha Tonchongya of the Career Development Secretariat alleged vote manipulation at the TSC polling station. Shrestha stated that a friend of hers noticed that a ballot from Table No. 1 already had crosses marked for candidates Sadik Kayem and S.M. Farhad before entering the polling center. When she inquired, she was instead questioned, and the Returning Officer, Professor Nasrin Sultana, immediately dismissed the allegation. Shrestha added that the CCTV footage from the time would be reviewed to verify the claim.