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Report on LSBUSU Elections
Citation preview
Repo
rt o
n Sp
ring
Term
Uni
on E
lect
ions
201
1
2
Contents
Page
Review of Union Elections 3
Issues and Recommendations 5
Complaints and Returning Officer Rulings 7
Appendix One: Voter Turnout 10
Appendix Two: Winners of Spring Term Student Union Elections
Appendix Three: Winners Manifestos 12
13
3
Review of Union Elections
Timetable
The Student Union Elections for the Sabbatical Officer positions must be held,
in accordance with the constitution, in weeks 5 or 6 of the second term. This
year, it was agreed that the elections would be held in week 6, commencing
on the 28th February 2011.
The elections timetable is detailed below:
DATE ACTION PLACE
10 am,
Monday
10th Jan
2011
Nominations Open
Online and at the
Students Union Reception
12pm,
Friday 4th
Feb 2011
Nominations Close Students Union Reception
3pm,
Thursday
10th Feb
2011
Candidates' Briefing Students Union Meeting Room
3pm, Friday
11th Feb
2011
Deadline for handing in signed
Trustee Declaration Form
(Sabbatical Officer positions
only) and manifestos (all positions).
Students Union Reception
10am, 28th
Feb 2011 Ballots Open Online
5pm, 4th
Mar 2011 Ballots Close Online
7pm, 4th
March 2011 Results announced
The Rigg Bar, Student
Union Building, Thomas
Doyle Street
Candidates
There were a total of 17 of candidates, who successfully completed the
nomination form although 2 candidates withdrew before voting opened,
giving 15 candidates standing in elected (higher than the 13 candidates in
last years election).
The key contacts for this election cycle were:
4
1. Returning Officer: Nell Andrews, London Regional Organiser, National
Union of Students.
2. Deputy Returning Officer: Richard Thomson, Solicitor, London South
Bank University.
3. Vice Deputy Returning Officer: Yemi Makinde, Representation and
Democracy Coordinator, London South Bank University Students Union
This is the second year that the election has been conducted online. The
decision to move to online elections was taken last year as a way of making
it easier for part time students and students at the Havering campus to vote.
Although last year saw a significant dip in the number of students voting, this
year, there has been a increase in the number students voting (see appendix
one), leading to the conclusion that although a change to online voting may
have confused students in the first year, they are now more accustomed to it
and thus increase in the number of votes.
5
Complaints and Returning Officer Rulings
A number of complaints were received both informally and formally by the
Vice Deputy Returning Officer (VDRO). Candidates were told at the
candidates briefing that if they wished for a complaint to be investigated
written notification must be sent to the VDRO along with any evidence. The
VDRO would then inform the Returning Officer (RO) and the Deputy
Returning Officer (DRO) of the complaint and a decision would be taken
whether to uphold it and if any sanctions should be taken. Below are details
of complaints that were dealt with by the Returning Officer (not in
chronological order).
1. Two candidates (Candidate D and E) did not submit their manifesto
form by the stated deadline. They were advised by the VDRO that if they
wished to have their manifesto published, they needed to write to the
Returning Officer explaining the reasons why their manifesto was late.
Both candidates wrote to the Returning Officer.
ROs Decision: Neither candidate had a valid reason for submitting a late
manifesto and so their manifestos were not published.
2. A student complained that as Candidate B was also a member of Union
staff working in the Unions licensed premises, that this gave the
candidate an unfair advantage over other candidates as it granted
them more access to students.
ROs Decision: That candidates who work for the Union are allowed to
work during the election period, although they are not allowed to talk
about any aspect of the election or wear campaign materials while
working.
3. Candidates were told in the mandatory candidates briefing that
although they could use social media to campaign, they could not use
email lists or phone lists that they exclusive held to send out
campaigning messages; this also applied to their campaign teams. To
do would be in contravention of Rule 15.5 contained within the Election
Regulations of the Unions Constitution. The VDRO was alerted to three
candidates who had used lists to campaign in contravention of Rule
15.5.
3.1. It was found that a member of the campaign team of Candidate A
had sent out a message of support to an exclusively held email list.
6
ROs Decision: This is in contravention of Rule 15.5. The candidate
was given a final warning and a message containing information for
the other election candidates was sent out on the same email list.
3.2. It was found that a member of the campaign team of Candidate B
had sent out a message of support to an exclusively held email list
and phone list.
ROs Decision: This is in contravention of Rule 15.5. The candidate
was given a final warning and a message containing information for
the other election candidates was sent out on the same email list.
3.3. It was found that Candidate C had sent out a message of support
to an exclusively held email list.
ROs Decision: This is in contravention of Rule 15.5. As a message
could not be resent to that list, this put Candidate C in an unfair
position and so the candidate was disqualified from the election.
3.4.
4. Two separate complaints of a serious nature were received concerning
the conduct of Candidate C. As the candidate had already been
disqualified by the receipt of these complaints, they were investigated.
However, the RO has asked that these complaints be forwarded to the
University and investigated under the student disciplinary procedure. No
action has been taken yet.
5. Under Rule 16 of the Election Regulations to the Constitution, any person
who is disqualified is allowed to appeal to a Pro Vice Chancellor (PVC)
to have the disqualification over turned. Candidate C, appealed to the
PVC (Academic), as specified under the Constitution to overrule the
ROs decision. The ROs decision was upheld.
6. Under Rule 17 of the Election Regulations to the Constitution, any person
may complain to the Vice Chancellor that the election was run
unconstitutionally. An appeal was made to the Vice Chancellor and it
was found that the election was not run unconstitutionally and the
appeal was dismissed.
7
Issues and Recommendations
The process of elections needs continual review and each year elections
being held highlight areas that the Union needs to work on so that elections
run much more smoothly.
1. Staff Resources
Members of Students Union staff have an important role to play in the election process. Prior to 2010 when the election was conducted by
paper ballots, temporary paid staff were employed by the Union to
help staff ballot stations on different campuses. In 2010, when the
election moved to online voting, temporary staff were deemed not
necessary, leaving one member of staff (VDRO) to administer the Union
elections. While the election ran smoothly this year, if the Union and
University wish to see an increase in the profile of the elections,
consideration needs to be given to employing temporary staff whom
will assist the VDRO on operational matters such as production of
materials, dealing with complaints, promoting voting and assisting
candidates. The Unions election budget would need to be increased to allow for the payment of staff.
2. Slates
A slate can be defined as a group of candidates, who agree to stand on the same or similar manifesto and/or agree to pool resources of time and
campaign together for each other. A complaint over the actions of three
candidates whom were running on a slate (the complaint was not
upheld) brought into focus that the Union did not have any election
regulations to deal with slates and this needed to be amended,
particularly in relation to how slates of candidates should be treated
when a member or members of a slate are found to have breached
the election regulations. There are two options that should be
considered:-
a. No Slates at future elections - The majority of staff currently
involved in the administration of the elections believe that slates
should be discontinued and that candidates should put
themselves forward for election on an individual basis for each
position. There is much to recommend this solution. In situations
where candidates have been found to breach the regulations it
would make it much easier for the Returning Officer to act. There
is also a strong argument that it enhances voter choice because
members are asked to consider individual candidates on merit
for each position. It also avoids the potential for paper candidates to be nominated simply to fill vacancies in the slate.
b. Regulation of Slates An alternative to banning slates would be stronger regulation. This would place additional administrative
requirements on the Returning Officer and their staff. It would be
8
necessary for candidates to acknowledge that they are part of
a slate at the time of nomination. This would place responsibilities
on all members of the slate with regard to their conduct and as
such in circumstances where a candidate who is a member of a
slate is penalised or excluded by the Returning Officer the
penalty would apply to all members of the slate.
3. Consent to Nominations and Acknowledgment of Election Rules
Candidates should be required to complete a Consent to Nomination form which includes an acknowledgement that they have read, understood and will abide by the Election Regulations. Failure to
complete such a form before the close of nominations would render
any nomination invalid.
4. Campaigning
a. Regulations about where and when campaigning is permitted
need to be strengthened. One option that may be considered is
to erect No Campaigning signs in areas where campaigning is prohibited. This would benefit members who may not be familiar
with the election regulations.
b. Candidates complained that they had very limited places where
they could put posters, and there were reports of members of
University staff taking down posters from inside the Union as well
as around the University. In addition, the Union was unable to
book key access points (London Road Concourse) for the first
time which hindered the Unions ability to promote the elections
to students. While the Union recognises that the University does
not want to be fly posted with elections materials, the Union
believes that this is an important time of the year for increasing
participation, establishing our legitimacy and meeting the
requirements of the Education Act 1994. Consideration should be
given by the University to relax postering rules during the election
period. The Union would be responsible for taking down all
posters at the end of campaigning.
5. Training for candidates and potential candidates
The current arrangements for candidate training are detailed and
robust. However there would be some benefit in starting the candidate
training process before nominations close. This may have the effect of
encouraging potential candidates who are curious about standing for
election to come forward without first having made a commitment to
stand for election. In addition, two members of staff should be
available for the candidates briefing (rather than the one whom
attended this year), one of which should be the RO or the DRO, so that
they can witness the information that candidates have received and
watch candidates signing that they have understood and agree to
follow the election regulations.
9
6. Complaints Management Procedures
While there are no particular difficulties with the way in which
complaints are handled after they have been submitted there is a
need for a much clearer system about how complaints should be
submitted for Union members and staff. The key objective must be to
enable any member who has a complaint to be able to submit it in
absolute confidence and for Staff members to have an enabling role in
the procedure without becoming involved in the complaint itself. A
standard complaints form will be developed both online and in hard
copy, to make it easier for complainants to know what information
they need to provide. The Returning Officer must be allowed more time
after the close of voting to receive and deal with any final complaints.
The current period of two hours is inadequate.
The Spring Term Union Elections 2011 can be considered as a success when
compared to the previous years. However there are a number of changes
that could be made for subsequent years to make the elections run more
smoothly.
10
Appendix One:
Voter Turnout
Position Votes in
2010
Votes in
2011
Percentage
Increase
Number of
Candidates in
2010
Number of
Candidates in
2011
President 905 1274 +40% 3 41
Vice President
Academic
Affairs
698 895 +28% 3 32
Vice President
Sports and
Societies
745 977 +31% 2 3
Vice President
Welfare and
Students Rights
639 534 -16% 1 23
Mature
Students
Officer4
0 426 +426% 0 1
Equality and
Diversity
Officer5
0 483 +426 0 2
International
Students
Officer6
0 0 0 0 0
Disabled
Students
Officer7
0 0 0 0 0
LGBT (Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual
and
Transgender)
Students
Officer8
0 0 0 0 0
NUS
Conference
Delegate(6
posts)910
654 500 -23% 4 2
1 One candidate was disqualified from the election on Tuesday 2
nd March 2011 reducing the
candidates from 4 to 3. As the voting was conducting online the software was able to eliminate the candidate before counting took place and redistributed votes for that candidate. 2 One candidate withdrew before voting commenced and their name was not included on the ballot
paper, thus reducing the number of candidates from 3 to 2. 3 One candidate withdrew before voting commenced and their name was not included on the ballot
paper, thus reducing the number of candidates from 2 to 1. 4 This position is a non trustee, unremunerated role.
5 This position is a non trustee, unremunerated role.
6 This election shall be reopened in the Union Autumn Term Elections
7 This election shall be reopened in the Union Autumn Term Elections
8 This election shall be reopened in the Union Autumn Term Elections
9 This position is a non trustee, unremunerated role.
10 As 4 positions still remain unfilled the election has been reopened to fill the remaining positions.
11
12
Appendix Two:
Winners of Spring Term Union Elections
President: Iain Hanley
Vice President Academic Affairs: Anisa Ali
Vice President Sports and Societies: Barry Taylor
Vice President Welfare and Students Rights: Nicola Lucas
Equality and Diversity Officer: Francis Namisi
Mature Students Officer: Gabriel Okenla
NUS Conference Delegate: Francine Dikete
Richard Kuti
13
Appendix Three
Winners
Manifestos
REMODEL and RELOCATE the SU.
Engage with parliament TO ADDRESS ISSUES
AFFECTING STUDENTS!
More events! (Better parties & Pool competitions)
BETTER INTEGRATION for nurses, part-time, post
graduate, mature and international students!
Vote # 1 Iain Beans
Hanley FOR President. From 10am 28th February - 4th March 5pm. www.londonsouthbanksu.com
www.londonsouthbanksu.com
LONDON SOUTH BANK CAN BE BETTER
VOTE # 1
Say Yes, Together We Can
V.P. Academic Affairs
Im currently a third year student studying BA Account-ing & Finance. While studying, I have been involved in various activities, such as being course rep and mem-ber of the student council. As a course rep, I was able to understand my fellow students needs and represent them in the best possible way. I am also part of the stu-dent society of accounting and finance as an Internal finance officer for the society which involves raising money to fund events and workshops in order to in-crease employability awareness. I am confident, hard working individual who is highly motivated and extremely ambitious in achieving target set. I also stand for diversity and equality within the stu-dent union to represent the diverse background of indi-viduals that study at London Southbank University.
If I am elected as your V.P. Academic Affairs:
I will improve the communication between stu-dents and teachers by co-ordinating meetings with the course reps Fight to improve Learning facilities Provide full support to all students Increase awareness of students support ser-vices Increase students involvement and participa-tion Work on Equality & Diversity and many
more .
Voting is open 24 hours from 10am February 28
th to 5pm March 4
th
Online :www.londonsouthbaksu.com
Vote for Barry Taylor as number 1 forVice President Sports and Societies
Barry Taylor
Reliability
Drive
Experience
Passion
Commitment
Honesty
Engagement
Anyone can say theyre the bestcandidate for a position, andduring an election everyone will.
I believe the way to judge whotruly is the best person for the jobis not by focusing on what peoplepromise to do, but by looking atwhat theyve done so far.The most driven, most passionatepeople will always distinguishthemselves with their deeds, nottheir words.
Goals
Greater engagement with the student bodyIncreased variety of sport available for LSBU studentsFurther increased cooperation between clubs at LSBUMore fundraisers and social eventsIntroduce seed societies, for societies with less then 20 members.
The Sports and Societies vote: Does it matter?The sports teams and societies act as ambassadors for, and public faces of,the university. The state of them reflects the state of the university as awhole, as such its important they are run well
Achievements this year
Acted as social secretary of the sports executive committeeBeen heavily involved with every sports fund raiser this yearHelped organise the end of year awards ballDeveloped the American football team, as VP and match co-captainCreated cooperation between sports clubsHelped organised all aspects of home games for the LSBU SpartansHosted the LSBU Spartans showcase game and BBQHelped with the foundation of one new societyHelped with the foundation of one new sports club
VOTE
NICOLELUCASVice President Welfare
and Student RightsFor a strong, campaigning, democratic Students Union
DEFEND LSBU! DEFEND OUR EDUCATION!
Defend Education by fighting to retain our widening participation status: Say NO to a two-tiered education system and 7,000+ fees
Fight for a student union which represents LSBU students and defending the services the student union pro-vides: Say NO to a student centre.
Celebrate the universities diversity and culture: Say NO to all dis-crimination
To empower and represent all LSBU students by developing a great-er support network and increasing widening participation: Say NO to marginalisation
savesouthbank.wordpress.comVote online now at www.londonsouthbanksu.com
VOTE: FRANCIS NAMISI for Equality and Diversity.
ENSURING WE ALL REACH THE BENEFITS WE DESERVE Make your best decision for 2011 VOTE
FRANCIS NAMISI (BA Accounting and Finance)
Standing as: EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY OFFICER
(EDO)
Yes, of course LSBU manufactures knowledge and committing to serve as equality and diversity officer guarantees enhancement of employability and transferable skills for all students. I am more than passionate that everybody must be treated equally at accessing services within the university and external bodies such as the Local Council, Trusts plus any others on issues affecting students welfare. Upon becoming an EDO I vow to do all the listening to students, raise their matters to the union and beyond, finally fight for action.
Quality is restored by equality Who questions the values of diversity? Indeed diversity in terms of race, gender, culture, age or religion blends well as a mixture of different talents and skills. Having lived within Southwark borough (lsbus local council), I have discovered live efforts for diverse representation where by over 45.5% of the workforce identified themselves as black or minority ethnic origin in 2006 to 2007. My duty as an EDO will be to ensure full participation in these employment opportunities by our union.
Bridging the gap between the students and the union Oh yes, all students know about the union but whether they are actively involved in the union activities is questionable. I therefore look forward to coordinating with all other union representatives most especially the president and the vice presidents for Welfare and Student Rights, Sports and Societies plus Academic Affairs to ensure real connection with the students. United we stand, divided we fall. You will not be left to deal with problems alone.
Research and Training on Equal Opportunities I will conduct a thorough research through seminar group representatives, societies, regular groups and union meetings where any raised issues will be dealt with accordingly. Discrimination still exists at work place and my obligation will be to ensure that you walk out of LSBU with the transferable knowledge that will enable you combat that real world. I will work closely with Equal Opportunities Trusts to ensure that all available information is provided to students.
Big up our voices in a swift and professional style Over the past few months we have been confronted by government decisions such as tuition fees, general cuts and elimination of Education Maintenance Fund. Not only shall I fight for our rights to affordable education but also extract all possible means to make sure that our say is not taken for granted. The good news is, there a number of government officials on our side therefore we shall maintain our voices for unlimited rewards such as grants.
Report Front CoverReport on Union ElectionsIain ManifestoAnisa ManifestoBarry ManifestoNicole ManifestoFrancis manifestoGabriel manifestoReport back Cover