Election Complaints
We want our elections to run smoothly but we recognise that there may be times where our student members may not be satisfied with the conduct of the election or individual candidates. Therefore, we have an elections complaints procedure in place to resolve complaints.
Any student member can submit an election complaint through the Students' Association website where they believe:
- Candidate(s) have not campaigned in line with our candidate conduct and principles of positive campaigning culture.
- Students' Association has not administered the election in accordance with our election regulations.
- You believe that the election has not been conducted in a fair and proper manner.
Any complaint concerning the conduct of student members may also be referred to the University Student Disciplinary Procedure.
All complaints shall be accepted until 2 hours after the close of voting unless it relates to the organisation and conduct of the election itself.
Election complaints can only be submitted where it relates to the conduct of the election or candidates. They cannot be used to dispute the result of the election.
We want to ensure that candidates are clear about their role in promoting a positive culture and ensuring our elections are run in a fair and proper manner. The points below outline specific activities that candidates should adhere to when conducting their election campaigning.
Please read the candidate code of conduct in full at the bottom of this webpage.
Students can submit a complaint where they believe a candidate has brocken one or more of our candidate rules or not acted in accordance with our postive culture of campaigning.
The Students' Association takes its responsibility of administering and organisation the elections very seriously. We design the elections to ensure that students have a equal opportunity to access and participate in our elections.
We aim to ensure that we are as transparent as possible when running our elections which is why we have our Election regulation that outlines the operational parameters of our elections.
Complaints regarding the Students' Associations handling of elections should relate to where you feel we have not adhered to our election regulations.
The 1994 Education Act set out that the University has a responsibility to ensure that we, the Students' Association, conduct our elections in a fair and proper manner.
We do this by setting out how we will conduct elections in our election regulations. However, students can submit a complaint if they feel that the election was still not conducted in a fair and proper manner.
Submit your complaint
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Candidate Conduct Explained
We want our elections to be an opportunity for personal growth and development of those involved as well as the way that our members decide who they want to champion their interests. Therefore, we will actively work with those involved to promote a positive culture and conduct outlined below.
Establishing a positive campaigning culture
We want to create a positive campaigning culture so that candidates and voters get the best experience and result from the election process. To ensure this we ask candidates to adopt the following principles whilst they are involved in elections:
- Dignity and Respect: Candidates should treat other candidates, students, staff, and members of the public with dignity and respect.
- Do not take advantage: Candidates should not do anything to gain an unfair advantage.
- Focus on you: Candidates should focus on their own campaign plan and follow it through. For their wellbeing, they should avoid concerning themselves with other campaigns.
- Supportive culture: A friendly and open culture is important, and a nice word can go a long way to support someone’s mental health. Elections are a competition, but this does not mean you cannot support each other’s wellbeing. Candidates can still endorse each other, check in on how other candidates are doing, and let us know when you may have concerns over the wellbeing of other candidates.
These guiding principles will also be taken into consideration where the students’ association needs to make decisions on the administration of the election that falls outside the details of this regulation.
Candidate Conduct
We want to ensure that candidates are clear about their role in promoting a positive culture and ensuring our elections are run in a fair and proper manner. The points below outline specific activities that candidates should adhere to when conducting their election campaigning.
Candidates shall not spend over the amount provided by the Students’ Association and shall be required to submit campaign expenses up to 24 hours after voting closes.
Candidates shall not campaign as a group of candidates. This includes merging or sharing campaign budget, campaign materials and campaign team members.
Candidates shall not seek/gain endorsement from any non-student members. This shall include members of university and/or Students’ Association staff or external organisations. For the avoidance of doubt any student member can endorse a candidate. This can include current Student Leaders and candidates.
Candidates must take reasonable steps to ensure that the actions of their campaign supporters comply with the election regulations, procedures and guidance.
Candidates must adhere to all Students’ Association and University Policies. This shall include following any instructions and guidance regarding candidate activities.
Candidates shall treat staff and students with dignity and respect. This means that they must not undertake activity that is deemed as negative campaigning that focuses on another candidate’s character. Candidates can engage in debate on the topics raised by other candidates.
Candidates must allow the electorate (voters) to cast their vote secretly, freely, and fairly. Candidates must not attempt to influence/coerce voters whilst they are in the process of voting.
Candidates must only alter, move, or remove their own campaign materials whilst campaigning and voting is open.
Candidates shall not undertake campaigning activity which others could not reasonably do.