The schedule for the Chittagong University Central Students’ Union (CUCSU) election has been officially announced, with voting set for 12 October. The announcement was made today at 3:00 PM during a press conference at the university’s Faculty of Social Sciences by CUCSU Election Commissioner Professor Monir Uddin.
The total draft voter list comprises 25,752 students, which will be published on Monday. Students will have the opportunity to raise objections until 4 September, after which the final voter list will be released on 11 September.
According to the schedule, nomination papers will be distributed from 14 September. Submission of nominations begins on 15 September and continues until 16 September, with the final date for submission on 17 September. Verification of nomination papers will start on 18 September, followed by the publication of the preliminary list on 21 September. Candidates can withdraw by 3:30 PM on 23 September, and the final list will be released on 25 September.
Voting will take place on 12 October from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, after which vote counting will commence.
The press conference was attended by Vice-Chancellor Muhammad Yahya Akhtar, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Professor Md. Kamal Uddin, CUCSU Centre Director Professor Mohammad Zahedur Rahman Chowdhury, Dean of Law Professor Zafar Ullah Talukdar, Director of the Student Advice and Guidance Centre Professor Md. Anwar Hossain, Dean of Business Administration Professor Mohammad Tayyeb Chowdhury, Professor Momtaz Uddin Ahmad of Public Administration, Assistant Professor Golam Hossain Habib of English, among others. Professor A K M Ariful Haque Siddique, Secretary of the CUCSU Election Committee, conducted the event.
CUCSU was first established in 1970, four years after Chittagong University’s founding in 1966. Although elections are supposed to be held every academic year, only six elections have taken place to date, with the last one held on 8 February 1990. Subsequent elections were disrupted due to confrontations between student organizations and an unsuitable environment. The CUCSU office has since been used for other purposes, including university events and employee functions.
The election comes after extensive debate over the CUCSU constitution, which was reviewed following the student-led protests of 5 August last year. A committee to revise the constitution was formed on 10 December but only submitted its report at the end of July 2025. The revised constitution was approved by the university syndicate during its 559th meeting on 1 August.
However, disputes remain over the constitution. Student organizations, including the Chittagong University branch of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Democratic Student Alliance, and Democratic Students’ Union, have raised objections. Chhatra Dal criticized the constitution as discriminatory against women and demanded inclusion of MPhil and PhD students in CUCSU. The Democratic Student Alliance called for the removal of the vice-chancellor’s executive powers and the addition of five new positions, while the Democratic Students’ Union demanded both constitutional amendments and the resignation of the proctorial body.
