One position on executive committee, nine spots on Board of Directors up for grabs
The University of Ottawa Students’ Union announced the details of its upcoming fall byelection on Wednesday and set the voting period for Nov. 6-8.
The byelection looks to fill a number of positions, both on the executive committee and the Board of Directors (BOD), that remained vacant after the union’s first general election in April.
The equity commissioner position is the only spot up for grabs on the UOSU’s five-seat executive committee.
Arielle Lavallee was brought on as interim equity commissioner this summer but resigned in August for undisclosed reasons. At the union’s Sept. 15 BOD meeting, they appointed third-year women’s studies and criminology student Judy El-Mohtadi to take over.
El-Mohtadi’s mandate will carry on until the end of the winter term if the position is uncontested in the byelection. But if others do vie for the equity commissioner seat, El-Mohtadi has said she plans to run as well.
There are nine vacant seats on the UOSU’s Board of Directors: one for the faculty of education, one for the faculty of law (common law section), one for the faculty of health sciences, two for the faculty of arts, two for the faculty of engineering, and one for the faculty of science.
UOSU advocacy commissioner Sam Schroeder told the Fulcrum in an interview on Sept. 11 that the vacancies on the BOD are an issue. After the union’s general election in April, just 14 of the 22 seats were filled. He said he hopes the byelection will help fill in the gaps.
“I’m hoping … people see things are more established now and are willing to put their names forward,” Schroeder said.
The nomination period for the election opens on Oct. 9 and closes on Oct. 23. Language testing for candidates will then take place from Oct. 24-27, with all candidates meetings for executive and BOD candidates set for Oct. 27 as well.
The campaign period is set to kick off Oct. 28 and close on Nov. 4, culminating in an executive candidates debate.
The results of the byelections are expected to be announced on Nov. 8 at 9 p.m.
The UOSU’s BOD will meet next on Oct. 27, location and time pending. The fall General Assembly is set for Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.
