“ I preferred the longer voting period last year”

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The position of Communities and Equality Officer went to Mia Robillard-Day, who received 1236 votes in the first stage of voting while Khurram Usman received 517 votes, Mia Robillard-Day received 1768 votes and RON received 185 votes.

In the closest race of the night, between the candidates for AU President, Gee Burnett came out on top. She received 1363 votes in the first stage, while Brianna Cummins received 1259 votes. Thus, at stage one, no candidates reached the vote quota of 1397.5 votes, with Gee going on to win at the second stage of voting.

The final results announced were for the position of Guild President, a position for which

Emma de Saram, current VP Liberation and Equality enjoyed a comfortable win, receiving 1679 votes in the first stage and 1734 votes in the third and final stage when she met the vote quota. Trey 'Captain Hook' Tallon came second in the presidential race.

In Emma’s winning speech, she described that, as Guild President, she wants to continue “fighting for climate justice and campaigning for affordable food on campus” as well as “empowering students to make the change that we all need. We have so much power as students and I really think we need radical leaders and I hope I can be that leader for you”.

Exeposé asked the Guild candidates about their experience during the elections process. Candidates felt that the support from the Guild had been good during the election period, with a shout out to the Vote Goat. However, questions of whether the Guild engaged enough with the process have arisen. Candidates have stated that the election was not as well advertised as it could have been, and that it ran at the wrong time. For many students, the voting week ran alongside their reading week, meaning in-person voting would have fallen considerably, potentially contributing to the decline in voter turnout. One anonymous student disliked the 31-hour voting period as it was not “conducive to proper engagement” and went on to state that it was “no wonder we saw a lower turnout this year than last year.” This is evident when comparing it to last year’s statistics. of the presidential candidates."

Another anonymous student stated: “I preferred the longer voting period last year, it meant I actually knew what was going on and that there was more time to get to know the different candidates. There was a bigger build up leading to the voting period, which drew more awareness to the election.” While the length of the voting period was one reason which impacted whether or not students voted, some respondents also said that they didn’t vote because they didn’t think the elections impacted them. One student said: “I don’t feel that the Guild has a huge impact on me.”

A spokesperson from the

Students' Guild told Exeposé: "This year we introduced in-person voting stations in the Forum, the Sports Park and on St Luke’s, with free pick and mix for voters, to boost participation and engagement. There was also the incentive of a prize draw with new prizes “unlocked” when a certain number of votes were reached, and a tree planted for every vote we received. Candidates were provided with breakfasts and lunches throughout the main week of campaigning, as well as Guild staff on standby to provide support. There were written guides and training sessions provided to candidates including how to campaign, how to brand your campaign and on public speaking."

The student attitudes toward the voting process were incredibly varied. Of the respondents to Exeposé’s survey 65.2 per cent voted in the recent Guild election. Of those respondents who did not vote, many expressed that they did not know when voting opened and closed, highlighting the limitations of the 31-hour voting period and the effectiveness of publicity around this voting period. One student claimed that they "didn’t know much about the candidates, especially outside