Update: In a previous version of this article, The Aquinian noted that STUSU posted the results on the voting website. The CRO is the person who approved the results to be posted on Simply Voting, the website through which STUSU conducts its elections, explained vice president administration Ahmik Burneo.
The St. Thomas University Students’ Union (STUSU) will hold spring general elections from March 1 to March 2.
STUSU sent an email at 9:39 p.m. today explaining that the initial elections violated its by-laws.
“According to our regulations, elections must span a minimum of two days, running from 8:00 AM on the first day to 6:00 PM on the second day,” read the email.
Students could only cast their votes from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 29, violating the two-day policy.
Moreover, the now-invalid results were live for a brief period, putting Ellie Namit as the elected president with 186 votes and Ana Lucia Pavón as vice president of education with 207 votes. The other non-competed positions as indicated by the voting website include:
- Vice-president student life, Alberto Chávez.
- Social inclusion representative, Aidan Steeves.
- Sexuality and gender diversity representative, Brizi Fabrizi.
- Board of governors student representative, Kate Hache.
- Student senator, Maleah Jayne Welton.
- Grad class president, Taylor Watson.
STUSU’s chief returning officer Felomena Deogratsias declined an interview with The Aquinian.
Pavón said candidates should have received an email about STUSU re-starting the elections, but said did not receive any due to what she claims was probably an “honest mistake”
“The chief returning officer did it so fast she forgot to add me to the email,” she said, noting that by the time she got the message she had already called her mom to give her the good news.
Related: STUSU spring elections are around the corner, meet some of the candidates
Presidential candidates Ellie Namit and Boluwatise Oduntan declined interviews at the moment.
With files from Oliver Pearson.
