By Samvit Sibal
What is the SU Leadership Election?
The SU Leadership Election takes place annually to decide who will run the Students’ Union for the upcoming academic year. All students are able to vote to elect the Student Leaders, who together are in charge of running the Students’ Union.
These are SU President, VP Education, VP Welfare, VP Community & Engagement, VP Student Experience, and VP Southend for students in Southend. The election allows all students at the university to express their opinion about who they think should run the SU and means all SU members have a say in how the SU is run.
Why Should I vote?
As a student at the University of Essex, you are also a member of the Essex Students’ Union, and are able to access all of the events, spaces, and services that the SU offers. The SU leaders are in charge of running all aspects of the SU, and your vote means you have a voice in who runs the SU and how it is run.
The election is your chance to decide this, and make sure the SU is the run the way students want it to be run, and by people students want to run the SU. Voting is free and only takes a short amount of time, so you should make sure to cast your vote in the SU Leadership Election and ensure your voice is heard.
How do I vote?
You can vote online and in-person at voting booths that will be across the squares on campus. Voting should be free and fair, which means no candidate or member of their campaign team should attempt to bribe or coerce you to vote a certain way. They should also not attempt to assist you while voting or communicate with you while you’re casting your vote. This is to ensure all were votes cast freely.
Voting takes place between 10:00 on Tuesday 12th March and 16:00 on Thursday 14th March.Â
The elections use a Ranked-Choice system, so you rank all the candidates from first to last depending on your preferences. There is also had a “R.O.N.” option when voting, which stands for Re-Open Nominations. You can use this option if you don’t feel any of the candidates would be good for the role. If this option gets the most votes, applications for the role will re-open and an election for this role will take place later with new candidates.
How do I know who to vote for?
You should make your choice about who you vote for based on who you think is the best candidate for each role. Information about all candidates can be found on the SU Election website.
Candidates can also run their own campaigns across social media and on campus to tell you why you should vote for them. All candidates have to follow the same rules to make campaigning as fair as possible, and campaigns have to be conducted fairly with candidates not talking down or attacking other candidates, instead only focusing on why they are the best candidate for the role.
Who are the candidates?
All the candidates are current University of Essex students, who are hoping to be elected to a full-time paid role running the SU. All candidates have been approved by the SU prior to running, so you can be sure all candidates meet the requirements for the job.
SU President
The SU president is responsible for the running of SU as a whole and serve as the face of the SU. They are also in charge of overseeing the strategy and development of the SU, and coordinating the actions of the SU with the other student leaders.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Adelinna Soare
- Ana Carare
- Anubriya Baskaran
- Hind Dawi
- Joar Blume-Robertsson
- Lily-May Cameron
- Maheen Kamran
- Uththiran R Sarengapani
VP Education
VP Education is responsible for all things related to education and studies at university, and making every student’s educational experience the best it can be.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Annie Scott
- Chandana somanahalli Ashok
- Holly Rayner
- Joe Holmes
VP Welfare
VP Welfare is responsible for all things related to student welfare. The VP Welfare liaises with the university to ensure the all students have access to the support they need.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Adeola Oyeshomo
- Chaitanya Gupta
- Fatema Kakoly
- Nifemi Wilson-Adu
VP Community & Engagement
VP Community & Engagement is responsible for representing all communities across the university, and ensuring the best student community possible.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Charmaine Musafare
- Diana Oommen
- Guilly Banari
- Hitesh Parihar
- Jamie Williams
- Jessica Brown
- Md Ahadul Islam Hridoy
- Muhammad Abdur Rafeh
- Suhaib Mohammed
- Tiara Framel Sepulchre
VP Student Experience
VP Student Experience oversees all aspects of student experience, including sports, societies, volunteering, events, and student media.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Aghareed Alodhaibi
- Bahan Aurangazeb
- George Gelbart
- Ian Lau
- Jared Bennett
- Julian Filizanowski
- Michael Pepple
- Shahbaz Khan
- Vanios Spanias
VP Southend
VP Southend is responsible for representing the interests of students studying at the university’s Southend campus. Only students studying in Southend can vote for VP Southend.
↗️ More information about candidates
- Marium Masroor
- Ruchi Singla
- Sumit Sharma