Some society elections held this week may have been unconstitutional.
Section 7.3 The LSE SU’s Constitution states that for elections to be valid, at least 25% of full society members must be present to vote. This has not been the case for many recent elections. Last week’s Women in Business AGM was run with just 15 members present – 7 of whom were running for positions – barely five per cent of the society’s 300 members.
Still more problematic was the election for President of the Business Society last Thursday’s AGM, which one attendant described as “total chaos”. All three candidates running for President secured roughly one third of the vote, leaving the ex-President, Nadya Menshikova, unsure of how to proceed. The constitution states in section 8 that “in the event of a draw between two candidates, a recount must be held”. Menshikova, acting as chair of the elections, recounted the votes, the candidate with the most votes did not change, and their majority actually increased.
The constitution does not specify how many times votes can be recounted, but it does say that if results stay a draw, the Societies Officer or a representative can hold a ‘casting vote’. Confusingly, the constitution also states that elections can just be run by an outgoing committee member without the supervision of a union officer.
LSESU Treasurer George Wetz said: “The Business Society did not inform the Union that it was holding elections until a few hours beforehand. All information related to societies’ elections is given to their Chairs at the start of the year, and it is clearly displayed on the Union’s website – it is not our fault if they do not read it.”
Election chairs have said that the problem is a lack of communication between the SU and societies. Many society members do not know the details of the constitution as they have not been provided with a copy. (nor do they see it as relevant?)
Some elections have also not been run with any member of the Students’ Union executive present. For example, Pulse’s Station Manager election held in week 5, did not have a Union official present to verify the votes.
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- Incumbents retain top sabbatical spots in Union elections
- Societies blast unfair room charges