A slate has been disqualified and a member of the constitutional board has stepped down during this year’s Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) elections.
The W.A.Y. (We Are You) slate was disqualified March 19 after violating section 8.5 of the electoral code, according to chief electoral officer (CEO) Fadi El Masry. The section prohibits slates or candidates from “soliciting votes by means of bribery, threats, or other means deemed inappropriate.”
The violation occurred after a secret Facebook group and event promising W.A.Y. supporters pizza was brought to the attention of the elections office, El Masry said.
“To my understanding, the night before campaign started . . . they were asking for people to come to the pizza party and at midnight go around and put posters up,” El Masry said.
This is the fourth violation the group has received. The other violations were given when the slate’s website was launched before the permitted time, posters were up before the permitted time, and a poster was put on a glass surface — which is against the electoral code, El Masry said.
The slate intends to appeal the decision, according to campaign manager Brandon Wallingford.
“We are certainly not going to take it lying down. This is something that we take pretty seriously,” he said. “We are going to deal with this in the most severe ways necessary that are permitted to us within the context of the elections and as individuals on this campus. We’re certainly looking at all options when dealing with the CEO.”
Wallingford also said the slate didn’t put the poster up on a glass surface, as stated in a violation.
“Obviously someone has come in and moved our posters,” he said. “Somebody is trying to get us a violation.”
Wallingford said he and the slate requested that at least two members of the constitutional board step down due to a conflict of interest. The constitutional board rules on all appeals.
After the request, Ryan Bottreil, a member of the board, stepped down because he decided to campaign for RRRAvens United, according to RRRA president Kaisha Thompson, but the other did not.
El Masry said although it’s unfortunate a slate was disqualified, it’s his job to enforce the rules.
“I really want to stress that I’ve been working really hard and I want to make sure that the election is fair for all candidates,” he said. “I am just hired for three weeks to run this election and the rules are democratic for everyone. But I hope that whoever wins this year looks over the electoral code and makes changes as they see fit.”
