DQed
Chief Electoral Officer Disqualifies Both Student Union Slates
__900_600_90.jpg)
_1_640_964_90.JPG)
The 2011 Concordia Student Union election took another bizarre turn last night, as the Chief Electoral Officer Oliver Cohen announced that both Action and the victorious Your Concordia slate had been disqualified.
According to the notice, released around midnight on April 13, Your Concordia candidates will not only be prevented from taking office, but will be “prohibited from seeking or holding office” for an additional two years.
“I find that Your Concordia has filed a false return of election expenses,” said the CEO in the notice of disqualification. “There have been numerous violations of the provisions of the Regulations governing Election Expenses.”
In the two separate notices of disqualification, in which all candidates for Executive, Council, Senate and Board of Governors positions for the slates were named, Cohen wrote “I am compelled by my office and the duties imposed thereby to disqualify [Action and Your Concordia] and each member herein above named from taking office.”
Neither slate will be reimbursed for their electoral expenses due to the violations.
Both notices also list a wide variety of almost identical transgressions that totaled over a dozen broken rules on each side, as well as several directives from the CEO that were disregarded, though the notices did not specify how each regulation or directive had been violated. The regulations violated included rules governing the campaign period, such as Section 4, Article 190 of the CSU standing regulations, which states, “Candidates shall campaign in accordance with the rules of fair play.”
When reached for comment, current CSU President Heather Lucas called the ruling a “huge shocker.”
“Either Action or Your Concorda can choose to contest it, but either way, it is probably in the hands of the Judicial Board at this point, because the CEO has made his ruling, and that’s it,” explained Lucas. “The [board] is going to have to come together and figure this one out.”
The CEO made the announcement in the wake of a mutual agreement on the part of both slates released Friday that pledged to “work together on a number of priorities” that include electoral reform and changes to the CSU bylaws, as well as presenting a united front against tuition increases.
“We would like the CSU to move beyond this divisive past. Regardless of our electoral camp, we are all on the side of serving students and it’s time to show students that we mean it,” the statement read.
Other violations listed by the CEO include breaking rules concerning online campaigning and campaign materials near polling stations. Some of the directives from Cohen that were broken by both slates included the failure to present original receipts for campaign expenses by the March 22 deadline, as well a failure to adhere to directives regarding campaigning on Facebook.
Members of Action and Your Concordia were unavailable for comment at press time. A CSU meeting is scheduled for today, April 13, at 6:30 p.m. in room 760 of the Hall building.
