Election Farce Returns!
It would seem that the Imperial College Union Sabbatical elections have returned to the level of farce expected of them. After the furore surrounding the last issue of Felix – issue 1285, published on Friday the 13th of February – the elections committee came to two decisions surrounding the complaints.
Due to the nature of these complaints and the Union’s ‘democratic process’ the student media as a whole feel that it would be inappropriate to comment on the nature of their decisions, but we still feel the need to point out that a decision has been made.
In essence there were two parts to their decision to release Felix to the general public after impounding it for several hours – an action they say they regret, in a statement released earlier on this evening – and the second part of the decision was appealed. In the case of elections the first appellant body is the Union’s Executive Committee - which seemed to have upheld the decision after an emergency meeting on friday - with the thrid and final decision being had by Union Council.
Once voting has closed the nature of these complaints will be made public, but this cannot happen at this stage since it could have an adverse impact on the voting itself, which should not be disrupted until all appeals have been heard.
The impounding of Felix by the elections committee has caused a great deal of debate amongst the student population as a whole and especially those involved with Student Media, since it is generally believed that the elections committee were acting outside of their remit by ‘impounding’ Felix, if only temporarily.
The issues will become much clearer over the next week as the dust settles, and it is likely that the issues will be raised at the next scheduled meeting of the Union Executive – on Tuesday, shortly before the close of voting – and at the next meeting of Union Council – which will be held on Thursday the 19th of February, at 1830 in the Union Dining Hall.
All members of the Union have full speaking rights at council, which means that they can participate in debate, bring papers and ask questions. If you have an opinion on the events of the past week, please turn up and have you voice heard.
Comments