Executive Board vice president Mirjam Bult announced the results this afternoon in the Waaier. After expressing her appreciation for the work of students on the University Council, she shared the turnout percentage these student elections: 28,42 percent – noticeably less than last year’s turnout of 31 percent.
‘Be firm and critical’
Six seats go to University Council veterans UReka. The ambitious students of DAS were able to secure three seats. uTOP, in the council since this academic year, received 115 votes, which wasn’t enough for a seat on the council. Still, Bult urged the party to participate in next year’s election.
She also had advice for the parties that did make the council. ‘Since all faculties, except ITC, will be represented with these results, I’d like to underline the importance to represent the entire student population. Bring in a broad perspective.’ And, since Bult will be leaving the UT in September: ‘Be firm and critical, but also gentle towards the new board members.’
Happy about results, disappointed in turnout
Both UReka and DAS were happy with the election results. Jeroen Assink (2nd on the UReka list): ‘It’s great to be back at six seats again. We were able to campaign at the Volkspark and on campus, but the majority of our presence was through social media. We tried to encourage as many students as possible to vote, while also making our own points come across.’
DAS had a similar strategy, says Danique Damen (also 2nd on the list): ‘An Instagram campaign is quite different from going out there and talking to people about the elections and the importance of the council. We very much prefer the latter, let’s hope it’s possible again next year.’
Both elected student officials share their disappointment in the relatively low turnout rate. ‘In an ideal situation, it should be similar to the turnout at the Dutch national elections,’ says Assink. Damen adds: ‘I think it’s mostly due to a lot of new students who weren’t able to come to campus all that much. The crisis situation certainly doesn’t help in getting people involved and interested.’
Update 17:48 | a statement by Jorg Wellink from uTOP: 'Given the limit time, resources and preparation uTOP is still happy with the results. We will definitely participate again next year with a complete list of 15 diverse candidates. Anyone that supports our vision may become one of our candidates next year.'
the elected student officials
DAS (933 votes):
- Giel van Weezel
- Danique Damen
- Bram van Uden
UReka (2185 votes):
- Sjoerd van den Belt
- Jeroen Assink
- Imke Verschuren
- Tim Achterkamp
- Atis Kazaferi
- Jaime de Bruin
Out of 11919 eligible voters, 3387 students cast their vote.
