I want Aber Guild of Students to be a successful, purposeful union, I really do. That’s why I get so mad when the Union handles things as badly as it has handled the supposed elections for Student Trustees and NUSW Winter Council Delegates.
Firstly, at a time when it is crucial that we engage students in the Union, the Union failed to adequately advertise the opening of nominations, or to clearly explain the election process or the roles of trustees prior to the closure of nominations.
Secondly, when voting was opened, it was observed that no elections were being held for NUSW Winter Council Delegate positions. The Guild says this is because 4 candidates stood for 4 seats, so all were elected. This is not how elections should work. In such a case, students should have been able to vote for these candidates, or RON, as in any other election. As of publication, it is still not known who the 4 “elected” delegates are, and it is insane that the Guild thinks students should just accept 4 people to represent them without knowing who they are or what they represent, and without giving student the opportunity to reject or approve those candidates.
Thirdly, it was observed by several students that RON was absent from the voting that did go ahead. In response to this, the Guild, without any announcement, added RON to the list of candidates, in the middle of the election: Without voiding prior results or rerunning the election. This alone undermines the integrity of these elections to the very core.
I find it hard enough to have confidence in individual staff and officers of the Guild as it is, but this year I’m increasingly finding it hard to have confidence in the institution as a whole. The Guild is rotten due to unaccountable staff, and people refusing to take the blame or responsibility when things don’t go how they should. Without radical reform to introduce real accountability, real democracy, real transparency, the Union has no chance of surviving, regardless of any short term political or financial fix.
As an undergraduate, I can only refuse to acknowledge the result of these “elections” due to the entirely unsound manner in which they’ve been conducted. I call on those responsible for the running of these elections to declare them void and rerun them with proper regard to the democratic processes we expect, and require of a students union.
Update 21:14 10/11/11: I have received a response from Geraint Edwards, the responsible staff member:
“Having discussed the issue with the Returning Officer, Ann North of NUS Wales, she is content that the integrity of the student trustee elections have not been significantly affected by the ommission of the Re-Open Nominations options for the first part of voting. I have therefore informed the candidates of the elections result and will be updating the website accordingly tomorrow morning. “
Once again I find myself disappointed, yet entirely unsurprised at the actions of the Union that is supposed to represent me.
Update 13:52 11/11/11: Students have now been informed that contrary to the above statement, the elections have now been declared void.
“The Elections Returning Officer, Ann North, has decided that due to Re-Open Nominations not being included from the outset in yesterday’s elections that the results are to be voided and the election re-run on Tuesday 15th November 2011 between 8:00am and 7:00pm.”
I welcome this move from Ann North to declare the elections void as a vital win for accountability and for regard for democratic processes. In holding the Union to account as students have done in the past 24 hours, we can help ensure that in the future the Guild is operated to the high standards which we expect without incidents such as this.
I want Aber Guild of Students to be a successful, purposeful union, I really do. That's why I get so mad when the Union handles things as badly as it has handled the supposed elections for Student Trustees and NUSW Winter Council Delegates.
Firstly, at a time when it is crucial that we engage students in the Union, the Union failed to adequately advertise the opening of nominations, or to clearly explain the election process or the roles of trustees prior to the closure of nominations.
Secondly, when voting was opened, it was observed that no elections were being held for NUSW Winter Council Delegate positions. The Guild says this is because 4 candidates stood for 4 seats, so all were elected. This is not how elections should work. In such a case, students should have been able to vote for these candidates, or RON, as in any other election. As of publication, it is still not known who the 4 "elected" delegates are, and it is insane that the Guild thinks students should just accept 4 people to represent them without knowing who they are or what they represent, and without giving student the opportunity to reject or approve those candidates.
Thirdly, it was observed by several students that RON was absent from the voting that did go ahead. In response to this, the Guild, without any announcement, added RON to the list of candidates, in the middle of the election: Without voiding prior results or rerunning the election. This alone undermines the integrity of these elections to the very core.
I find it hard enough to have confidence in individual staff and officers of the Guild as it is, but this year I'm increasingly finding it hard to have confidence in the institution as a whole. The Guild is rotten due to unaccountable staff, and people refusing to take the blame or responsibility when things don't go how they should. Without radical reform to introduce real accountability, real democracy, real transparency, the Union has no chance of surviving, regardless of any short term political or financial fix.
As an undergraduate, I can only refuse to acknowledge the result of these "elections" due to the entirely unsound manner in which they've been conducted. I call on those responsible for the running of these elections to declare them void and rerun them with proper regard to the democratic processes we expect, and require of a students union.
Update 21:14 10/11/11: I have received a response from Geraint Edwards, the responsible staff member:
"Having discussed the issue with the Returning Officer, Ann North of NUS Wales, she is content that the integrity of the student trustee elections have not been significantly affected by the ommission of the Re-Open Nominations options for the first part of voting. I have therefore informed the candidates of the elections result and will be updating the website accordingly tomorrow morning. "
Once again I find myself disappointed, yet entirely unsurprised at the actions of the Union that is supposed to represent me.
Update 13:52 11/11/11: Students have now been informed that contrary to the above statement, the elections have now been declared void.
"The Elections Returning Officer, Ann North, has decided that due to Re-Open Nominations not being included from the outset in yesterday’s elections that the results are to be voided and the election re-run on Tuesday 15th November 2011 between 8:00am and 7:00pm."
I welcome this move from Ann North to declare the elections void as a vital win for accountability and for regard for democratic processes. In holding the Union to account as students have done in the past 24 hours, we can help ensure that in the future the Guild is operated to the high standards which we expect without incidents such as this.
Tags: aber, aber guild, Aberystwyth, accountability, augs, Politics, students, transparency, university
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November 13th, 2011 at 6:41 am
I am happy about the outcome of this and once again appalled at the processes of the guild. (emphasis for sarcasm) a guild of students need be run better if it is to engage students.
(side comment about the guild meeting democracy)
The GM’s pointless bureaucracy in dealing with the Chair of the guild was unnecessary and responding the issue could have been delayed until after the GM, it did not need to be voted on there and then and there was an obvious sigh of anguish at the stretching of the GM by 30 minutes to decide a vote of “no confidence” which merely resulted in him not chairing the GM… which he’d already been taken from because he’d been replaced at the table after his apology for no Welsh. (As a guild of a Welsh University with a bilingualism as a major policy… yes it was a big cock up and as a Welsh speaker I was disappointed but felt there were more important issues like Housing and Guild Ethics)
A vote of “no confidence” should have had more consequence than that and the reason there was a majority “for” vote was because people wanted to move on with the GM and go home.
People shouldn’t “want” to go home because they’ve been forced, the delay moved the GM from being “interaction with your guild” to “chore that must be achieved before I can go to the pub.”
I digress.
No advertising was made for this elections as well.
I received an email about the elections on the day of them saying what they were… I had no time to observe the candidates promises, never mind mind the fact I was too busy to check my email until the day after the email/election.
More must be done. This web link, with a small description should be pasted in the news feed.
Good work, Tindall.