11 students are set to run for the position of President in this year’s Students’ Union elections, in one of the most contested elections for the role in recent years.
A total of 44 candidates are running for the Full-Time Officer and Part-Time Liberation Officer roles, the highest since 2011 and slightly up on last year’s figure of 43.
The roles of Activities Officer and President are the most contested in this year’s election, with each receiving the most candidates for over five years.
Activities will see seven students campaign for election, up from five last year.
Nominees for the role of NUS delegate have also met the record levels set in last year’s contest, with nine students running for the four positions available.
Almost all the Liberation Officer roles have seen an increase in nominations; with four students running for Womens’ Officer, four for LGBTQ Officer, and three for Students with Disabilities Officer. However, the roles of Societies and Citizenship, Undergraduate Education and Postgraduate Education see a slight drop in nominees after they were first introduced last year.
Only one student is running for the position of Ethnic Minorities Officer in this year’s election.
Commenting on the increased number of candidates for President, current President of the Students’ Union, Abraham Baldry, said: “We always welcome more people getting involved in elec- tions as candidates and voters.
“It’s great to see that the high level of interest in the role of President has continued this year and that so many students put them- selves forward for the range of roles on offer.”
Baldry also added that they aim to get more students to vote in the upcoming elections than last year, stating “Our aim is for more than 45% of our members to have voted in a Student’s Union election or referendum over this academic year and we’ve got a variety of ways to reach this.
“Some of them are longer term projects, such as working to ensure students understand what the Union enables them to do and they feel part of that.”
“Our elections team will be in Library Square every lunchtime during the voting period so you can pop along and chat to them about the elections if you’d like more information”.
The highly contested race for the Presidency follows a referendum last term on whether the role of President should be scrapped and replaced with a full-time Equality and Diversity Officer, which was rejected by 60% of students.
Voting closes at 5pm on Friday 4 March. Cast your vote here.
