The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) is headed to a fresh election after its constitutional board overturned the disqualification of slate Rez-Solution on Feb. 7.
The RRRA council upheld the board’s decision on Feb. 10 after voting against Joel Vervoort’s motion to overturn the constitutional board’s ruling and leave slate Undivided the winners of the election.
The constitutional board’s decision was not unanimous, according to RRRA president Omar Bainto. The board has chosen not to disclose exact numbers.
The constitutional board ruled on five appeals of violations in total.
Bainto said Rez-Solution’s budget violation and bribery involving Timbits violations were overturned, while their bribery involving liquor and Carleton University Students’ Association candidacy violations were upheld.
The new election date will be set by chief electoral officer David Valentin. The elections office will release the date after consulting with stakeholders, according to Valentin.
“The new election will be run in the same fair manner as the previous one,” Valentin said.
Since the previous election has been annulled, all three slates— Rez-Solution, Undivided, and A Team You Can Trust— will campaign again.
Posters have been put up in residence to raise awareness about the coming re-election, which Valentin hopes will receive the same voter turnout as the last, although he said there is a fair chance it will be lower.
The new election will cost several thousand dollars. In light of the recent violation awarded to Undivided, overhauling election day procedures to prevent ballot fraud has increased costs, according to Valentin.
Undivided received a violation for ballot stuffing (interfering with the electoral process).
Their presidential candidate, William Cathcart, said they are prepared for another election.
“We are ready to go again, and we are excited to bring the same intensity and enthusiasm that we brought into the last election into this one,” Cathcart said.
Daniel Shalinsky, Rez-Solution’s vice president (administration) candidate, said his team cannot express how happy they are with the board’s decision to call a new election.
“Students deserve a fair election, and they are finally going to get one,” Shalinsky said. “We would like to thank the constitutional board for hearing our appeals and ensuring that this process was fair, honourable, and thorough.”
Slate Rez-Solution, which had threatened to sue RRRA if there was not a new election, will no longer be pursuing legal action.
