UPDATE: CUSA council declared a referendum on the creation of a levy for CUSA’s Unified Support Centre in a Jan. 16 meeting, increasing the number of referendums on the ballot to three.
Undergraduate students will return to the polls Feb. 7 to 9 to elect a new president, new councillors and vote on at least two referendums in the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) 2023 general election.
The nomination period for candidates opened Jan. 9 and ends Jan. 23. Students will elect up to 31 councillors who will start their terms March 12 and a president who will start their term May 1.
Candidates must receive nominations from students to be eligible to run for the elections. The number of nominations required varies between faculties. Presidential candidates require 128 nominations.
Changes from previous elections
Following the recommendation of chief returning officer Connor Plante, the voting period has been extended by eight hours. Electronic ballots will be sent to students’ emails and open from 9 a.m. Feb. 7 to 5 p.m. Feb. 9.
Plante told the Charlatan the decision gives students more time to vote.
Plante also introduced a rule that prevents anyone from submitting an election complaint once 72 hours have passed since voting has ended.
This streamlines the election’s complaints and appeals process, giving him the time to properly deal with any concerns raised, he said.
Current executive announces candidacy
According to Plante, only one candidate—first-year bachelor of global and international studies student Nir Hagigi, who is running for a faculty of public affairs councillor seat—has submitted their nomination submission so far.
But the race to be the next CUSA president is well under way. CUSA vice-president (student issues) Faris Riazudden announced his intention to run for president through Instagram as soon as the nominating period began. Riazudden unsuccessfully ran for president in last year’s election before council appointed him to his current position.
In an Instagram story post, Riazudden said he would be taking an unpaid leave of absence from his position until the end of the election season. His campaigns and planned events have been delegated to other CUSA staff and executives in the meantime.
“It’s imperative to me that we continue taking action on the important issues impacting our students, ranging from affordability to mental health,” he wrote. “That is why I hope to serve as your CUSA president, to continue the progress and student driven advocacy.”
For more information, students can visit the Charlatan’s website or the CUSA elections website.
Featured image from file.
