Despite the announcement of the results earlier this week, the furore and brouhaha that probably characterised this year’s VUWSA general elections looks set to continue, with Sonny Thomas announcing his intentions to lodge a formal complaint with Returning Officer Roy Siemens to investigate “concerns” that have allegedly been raised over the amount of money spent by President-elect Jasmine Freemantle during the campaign period.
In an ambigious press release distributed this morning, in which he also announced his concession, Thomas pointed out that the vote count against Freemantle (i.e. the number of votes that Thomas and the other two presidential hopefuls, William Wu and Sean Connors, received altogether) was equivalent to 66 per cent of the total votes cast, and added: “It’s disappointing to see archaic electoral systems such as first past the post ignore the wishes of two thirds of the student body.”
It is unclear what action Siemens will take regarding the matter. As far as Salient is aware, he has yet to act upon numerous complaints made to him previously about the failure of several candidates in removing their campaign material during the voting period, which is a violation of Section 54 in the VUWSA Constitution.
The full text of Thomas’ press release is below:
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VUWSA Presidential Candidate Sonny Thomas Concedes prima face defeat, vows to contest
Yesterday the VUWSA election results were announced and Presidential candidate Sonny Thomas narrowly lost to his Workers Party opponent Jasmine Freemantle gaining 762 votes to Freemantle’s 895.
The close result, with only a 5% margin of votes between the two front runners, reflected an intense, and at times nasty election campaign that saw voter turnout reach over 2600, for the second time in two years.
Sonny Thomas said
“I’m disappointed to have been beaten so narrowly, it shows that students really were divided on the issues, the majority of students did not have the confidence in Jasmine Freemantle to be president of their association.”
The other two Presidential Candidates, William Wu, and Sean Connors both polled 658, and 342 votes respectfully, making the total count against Freemantle 1762 votes, or 66 percent of the electorate.
“It’s disappointing to see archaic electoral systems such as first past the post ignore the wishes of two thirds of the student body” Thomas said.
Freemantle, in a media release today, attributed her win to the reaction of students against “Rogernomic-style reforms to VUWSA” included in the VUWSA Change Proposal, a document she claims was solely authored by Thomas.
“It’s saddening to see these partisan attacks and misrepresentations continue after the election” Thomas replied.
“I have consistently said throughout the election that this document was co-written with current VUWSA President and Workers Party member Joel Cosgrove, as well as being consulted upon by former VUWSA President and Workers Party member Nick Kelly. It was a cross party effort that looked to ensuring a sustainable and bright future for VUWSA.” He added
Thomas also voiced concerns with the ungracious nature that Freemantle had presented after winning the vote.
“She has put in her press release that the Change Proposal would turn Salient into a business unit, this is simply untrue. I see no need why she would have to continue to lie and scaremonger students even after winning the election. It smacks of reactionary leadership.”
Thomas has also indicated that several students have raised concerns over the amount of leafleting and postering that Freemantle undertook during the election campaign. He has indicated that he will be lodging a formal complaint with Roy Siemens, the VUWSA elections returning officer, to investigate if Freemantle has overspent her constitutionally allocated limit of $100 dollars.
“Until it is known for sure that this election was fought and won fairly, and no rules were broken by the President Elect, I will not concede defeat.” He added.
ENDS