Statement from the Returning Officer

Spring Elections 2018-19

As Returning Officer, I received and investigated a series of complaints relating to one of the candidates standing for Union President, Henry Hill.

These complaints covered potential breaches of various aspects of the Elections By-law and Guidance, which are in place to ensure free and fair elections with accountable campaigning.  Amongst the complaints was a significant campaign overspend which resulted in extensive social media reach that is otherwise extremely unlikely to have been possible.

Having reviewed the evidence, I find that the candidate was in breach of the By-law and Guidance.   The cumulative effect of the breaches, as well as the relative significance of the overspend, are serious enough to withdraw the candidate from the election.

Union Senate considered and accepted my recommendation that Henry Hill should be withdrawn from the election with immediate effect.  The Senate vote excluded any Senators who were known to have any vested interest in the current elections.

As voting is underway, the candidate will still appear on the online ballot, but will be marked as withdrawn.  Any votes cast for the candidate will automatically be transferred to the voters’ next preference during the count after voting has closed.

Sonya Enright
Returning Officer

If you have any queries then please contact, alternatively you can review our Elections By-Law here. This document contains technical provisions made for the elections, including information about the withdrawal process.

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