In addition to the Board of Directors election, fee-increase referenda have been passed
Photo by Ashlee Levy.
Over 3 500 students took to the polls between March 18 and 20 to vote for UVSS directors and referenda which aimed to increase organizational fees.
First-year student Isabelle Easton was elected to the role of Director of Campaigns and Community Relations. She took 50.2 per cent of the vote against current UVSS Campaigns Committee member Prym Goodacre.
Isabelle told the Martlet that she is honoured to have been elected. “I could not be more grateful to the people who followed along my campaign journey and listened to me pitch my ideas,” she said in an emailed statement. “They are the reason my campaign was successful.”
Khushi Wadhwa was re-elected as Director of Finance and Operations. “I am grateful students trust me to represent them again,” she said in an email to the Martlet. “I would like to work on my campaign promises and being more proactive in spreading information about the UVSS Extended Health & Dental Plan!”
Hemal Sharma was elected Director of Student Affairs. “I am looking forward to learning about how I can best implement my ideas and do the best job I can as Director of Student Affairs over this upcoming summer,” he told the Martlet.
Harshita Sankar won the role of Director of International Student Relations. “I’m truly grateful for all the people who trusted and voted for me,” she said in an emailed statement. “Over the next year, I’m looking forward to making my election platform a reality and building a stronger international community.”
Bunni Williams, who served as Director of Student Affairs this past year, had no competing candidate for the role of Director of Outreach and University Relations. They won 71.1 per cent of the vote, with 28.9 per cent of voters choosing not to support them.
Finally, Sarah Buchanan was re-elected as Director of Events, winning 57.5 per cent of the vote against candidate Artem Kuklev.
Kuklev was disqualified from the election following an alleged interaction with UVSS Elections staff on March 19. John Morrison, chief electoral officer (CEO) alleges that Kuklev was campaigning near an election information booth at the McPherson Library, was asked to stop, but continued campaigning. His campaign staff were also alleged to have harassed elections staff. These actions are major infractions under UVSS electoral policy.
In an email statement to the Martlet, Kuklev said that he has appealed the disqualification. “We strongly disagree with the decision made [by] the CEO,” he said. “We will be unable to make any comment until [the appeal] process is completed in order to respect the integrity of the election adjudication process.”
Following the appeal, UVSS Elections released a statement saying that Kuklev’s disqualification was upheld, affirming Morrison’s decision.
“We are still confident that a fair resolution will be reached,” said Kuklev in an email to the Martlet following the decision. He added that the “appeals process has now been escalated.”
All four of the proposed fee-increase referenda were passed, with the UVSS Operations fee getting the lowest amount of support with 58.4 per cent in favour, and the UVic Sustainability Project fee earning the highest amount with 66.9 per cent in favour.
Some international students had issues with the online voting platform, according to a comment on the UVic subreddit. UVSS CEO John Morrison said in an emailed statement that this was quick to be addressed. “We worked with UVic’s Office of the Secretary and were able to resolve the issue within a few hours,” he said. “All affected students were notified shortly after the issue was resolved.”
This year also saw the highest voter turnout since 2001, with 21.7 per cent of electors casting a ballot. That’s 3 729 out of 17 223 students — a leap from last spring’s 9.9 per cent turnout. Spring of 2020 was the last election before the COVID-19 pandemic, where 14.8 per cent of students voted.
This article was edited April 5 to reflect updates on the disqualification of the Director of Events candidate.
This article was edited May 2 to reflect updates on the disqualification of the Director of Events candidate.
