The University of Sydney announced on the 17th of March that the 2024 election of the Undergraduate Student Fellow of Senate for 2024-2026 is now void. This declaration was made by the Returning Officer and Governance Officer, Michelle Stanhope.
The reason cited for voiding the election was that Stanhope “was not satisfied with the fairness and integrity of the election process.”
On Tuesday 18th March, a subsequent election was called to re-elect the Undergraduate Fellow position.
According to Stanhope, USyd received “a number of reports and complaints from students which alleged that candidates and/or their supporters had engaged in behaviour expressly forbidden under the Election of Undergraduate or Postgraduate Student Fellow of Senate Guidelines.” The nature of these reports and complaints was not specified.
The election had previously been suspended from the 24th of October 2024, the day voting closed, and had remained in effect until the 17th of March.
The first Senate meeting is scheduled to take place on the 22nd of March. Currently there is no undergraduate student representation planned for this meeting.
Stanhope said that “The University is committed to enabling undergraduate student representation on the University’s Senate hence our immediate action to re-call the election. In the interim period, the University is considering opportunities to facilitate student representation and consultation until an Undergraduate Student Fellow can be validly elected.”
A USyd spokesperson said to Honi that “While we are legally constrained in what we can disclose about individual cases, we take these allegations extremely seriously.”
The spokesperson said that the Chancellor was “acutely aware of the concerns regarding undergraduate student representation” and has attempted to ensure representation by requesting a meeting with the Presidents of the SRC and the USU “to discuss the Senate meeting outcomes and themes to ensure meaningful engagement.”
In response to questions about the considerable length of time between the previous election and the new election, the spokesperson said that “We have an obligation… to follow due process and make sure detailed consideration was given to the complaints made regarding behaviour during the election process but we understand the frustration and disappointment of those involved.”
Alex Poirier, one of the candidates in the now-void election, commented “It’s honestly ridiculous that this has taken so long. The voiding of the previous election took 144 days, and this new election will finish on the 13th of May.”
He added, “Multiple candidates, including myself, have felt the voiding and subsequent notice of a new election has become a punishment on honest campaigns, because of the misconduct of others. It seems that the offending candidate will face no repercussions, whilst the others will be forced into a new election, for which they may not have capacity and time.”
Ned Graham, another disappointed candidate, said “A new election punishes those of us who ran good faith campaigns at considerable personal cost in time and money.”
Graham continued, “The university faces a straightforward decision: if there was misconduct, disqualify the offending candidate(s); if there was not, there is no reason for a new election to be held; if there may have been misconduct, prosecute the cases for and against until the existence of misconduct can be concretely determined.
“The university cannot kowtow to the candidate(s) who offended during the 2024 election and who stand to benefit most from a new election.”
The University commented that “We aren’t able to give a definitive answer as to whether candidates who have allegedly engaged in forbidden behaviour could be permitted to run again as, legally, any qualified person on the undergraduate roll can be nominated for candidacy, and the returning officer has to make a decision at that point as to whether they accept the nomination and confirm the candidate or not; the returning officer can’t pre-judge an application that has not yet been made.”
They added, “We’ve undertaken a preliminary review of how we can best support the fairness and integrity of the election process… The Notice of Election and Nomination Forms have been updated for student Senate elections – including the requirement for a signed TEQSA Fit and Proper Person declaration to be provided to constitute a valid nomination. Additional information regarding the conduct of elections will also be published on the University’s webpage along with a briefing for all candidates with the Returning Officer prior to the ballot.”
