The Dhaka University (DU) administration on Sunday clarified that a portion of the ballot papers for the Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) and hall union elections 2025 were initially printed at Nilkhet.
However, the papers were later processed and finalised through a five-stage security procedure at the designated vendor's main facility before being ready for use.
DU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof. Dr. Niaz Ahmad Khan addressed an emergency press conference to explain the matter in detail.
He said the responsibility of printing ballots had been given to a reputed vendor. Due to a record number of voters and candidates, the main vendor engaged a supporting firm under the same tender to speed up the process.
Without informing the university, the supporting vendor printed 88,000 ballots on 22 reams of paper at Nilkhet, which later sparked controversy. So, the university issued a show-cause notice to the vendor, who apologised and explained the situation.
According to the DU VC, only the initial printing and cutting took place at Nilkhet. The ballot papers were then transported to the vendor's main office, where further security coding, OMR pre-scanning, sealing, and verification were completed. Through this process, 86,243 ballots were finalised for use, while the extra ballots were destroyed traditionally.
The vendor assured the university that maximum security had been maintained during production and transportation, and admitted that its failure to inform the authorities about Nilkhet activities was due to workload pressure.
Prof. Niaz Ahmad Khan explained that ballot preparation involved several phases. First, the ballots were printed and cut to specific size. Then, security codes were applied, and the ballots were pre-scanned through OMR machines to ensure machine readability. Finally, the chief returning officer and the returning officers verified the ballots, which were then sealed and certified for official use.
"This complex security process cannot be completed in any Nilkhet shop. Nilkhet was used only for preliminary work. The final steps were carried out at the vendor's headquarters."
The press conference also revealed that a total of 239,244 ballots were prepared for the election. Out of 39,874 registered voters, 29,821 cast their votes. Altogether, 178,926 ballots were used, leaving 60,318 ballots securely stored.
"Where the ballots were initially printed or how many were printed has no impact on the integrity of the election. The five-stage security process ensured that the ballots were fully secure and the overall procedure was transparent."
On September 24, the university issued a statement denying that the ballots could be fully printed at Nilkhet. The VC clarified this point, saying the critical security stages, such as OMR scanning and sealing were not possible in Nilkhet shops. Those steps were completed in the vendor's office.
The DU administration further announced that candidates may review CCTV footage and voter signature lists, if they file specific applications. Such reviews would be conducted in the presence of university-appointed experts.
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