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Voices for the central student union elections at major public universities in the country are getting louder, with the students raising the demand to the university authorities for holding the long due elections in the changed political scenario after the fall of authoritarian Awami League regime.

Students at different universities, including Dhaka University, Jahangirnagar University, Rajshahi University, Chittagong University, Jagannath University, and Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, have been demonstrating to press home their demands for the student body elections after the ousting of Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024 amid a student-led mass uprising.

Rafiqujjaman Farid, coordinator of the Democratic Student Alliance, a combine of seven student wings of left leaning political parties, said that the students were expecting democratic practices on campuses following the July uprising.

‘University authorities must realise student demands and take steps to hold the student body elections on every campus,’ said Rafiqujjaman.

The holding of elections to the central student unions of most of the universities stopped after 1990. However, elections to the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union and the hall unions were last held in 2019 after a 23-year break since 1990, according to student leaders.

Leaders of student organisations, teachers, former student leaders pointed out to a lack of well intention on the part of ruling political parties and university administrations for no elections.

They also said that the July uprising instilled hope into the students to raise voice for their democratic rights that were taken away by the now ousted Awami League regime to establish dominance on the campuses.

Nasir Uddin Nasir, general secretary of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, said that the students should be allowed the time to understand the activities of the student organisations to choose their representatives as the academic activities at the universities had just began after the uprising.

DUCSU runs under the Dhaka University Order, 1973 and the DUCSU constitution was amended in 2019 to benefit banned Bangladesh Chhatra League, student wing of the Awami League, said Nasir.

‘We want reforms in the DUCSU constitution. The reform has to be carried out in the DU senate too. Of the 13 AL-leaning members, only five members resigned from the 19-member senate committee,’ said Nasir, demanding the administration take all initiatives to complete the reforms as soon as possible before the elections.

Former Communist Party of Bangladesh president Mujahidul Islam Selim, also a former DUCSU vice-president, said that the depoliticisation of the youth and excessive dominance of ruling political parties on the university student politics were responsible for no central student union elections for so long.

‘Political parties politicalised the elections so much that the defeat in the DUCSU is considered as the defeat in the national politics,’ said Selim, adding that ruling political parties also wanted to depoliticise the students so that they would not raise voice against the acts of the parties.

‘Ruling political parties want to maintain dominance on the campus and the central student union elections were barriers to that. So they do not want the elections,’ said Selim, who was elected vice-president in the 1972 DUCSU elections.

Student leader Rafiqujjaman said, ‘There are some undemocratic clauses in the student union constitutions. We want the elections only after reforms in the constitutions.’

Nurul Islam, secretary general of the Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, observed that university administrations should not take much time to hold the elections, as union elections were the foremost demands of the students after the uprising.

‘Students do not want the establishment of supremacy culture on the campuses any more,’ said Nurul.

Sayema Haque Bidisha, pro-vice-chancellor (administration) of the DU, said that the DU administration had taken the holding of DUCSU elections as the top priorities following the demands and opinions of the students and other stakeholders of the university.

She told ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ· that a special committee was formed in December to review the DUCSU constitution and to address the student demands.

At the Jahangirnagar University, the JUCSU elections were last held in 1992.

The JU administration on January 2 formed an election commission to conduct elections to JUCSU following student demands.

According to the JUCSU elections roadmap, the election schedule will be announced on February 1.

‘Different student organisations are demanding reforms in the JUCSU constitution before the elections. The administration should address the demand,’ said Jakirul, a member of the JU unit of the JCD.

Amartya Ray, the president of the JU unit of the Bangladesh Students’ Union, said, ‘We want reforms, but do not want any delay in JUCSU elections for reforms.’

Chief election commissioner Md Moniruzzaman said that the JUCSU election commission was following the existing constitution to hold the elections on time.

Rajshahi University vice-chancellor Saleh Hasan Naqib said that after he was appointed as the VC in September 2024, he took initiatives to resume the activities of Rajshahi University Central Student Union that remained halted after the 1989 RUCSU elections.

Several meetings of the administration with the student organisations and stakeholders were held regarding the resumption of the elections, he said, adding that the student-led mass uprising provided an opportunity to work for a change.

‘The student organisations and stakeholders had demands and recommendations. We reviewed those and formed a committee in January to work for the elections,’ said Saleh Hasan.

Fuadul Islam Bhuiyan Ratul, convener of the RU unit of the Socialist Students’ Front, said, ‘The VC has assured us that he would take initiatives to hold RUCSU elections in five months. In a meeting with the VC, we placed our several demands, including reforms in the RUCSU constitution and assurance of a level-playing field.’

At the Chittagong University, no CUCSU elections were held in past 35 years.

CU pro-VC Kamal Uddin said that the university administration also formed a committee to review the CUCSU constitution with the aim of holding elections soon.

According to Jagannath University VC Rezaul Karim, there is no constitution regarding central student union in the Jagannath University Act, 2005.

The university administration has prepared a central student union constitution, said Rezaul, adding that the administration would send it to higher authorities for approval.

There are 55 public universities in the country, but there are currently no elected student bodies at the universities.