UWSA council majority passes election report
By Nick Olynyk
News Reporter
March 26, 2008
 A secret ballot vote during Thursday’s UWSA council meeting ratified the chief returning officer’s (CRO) election report.
By a majority of 13-2 (one abstention), the controversial decision became seemingly less controversial. The vote capped a growing pile of complaints against the UWSA in recent weeks over a flawed system. CRO Justin Teeuwen spoke in front of council members and an unusually large crowd of 20 onlookers.
A point of contention throughout the election had been the issue of demerit points being dealt to candidates at the CRO’s discretion. This complaint was brought forth by Tosin Bello, who ran and won the chair of vice president of finance and operations (VPFO).
Before polls opened, a complaint was launched by Bello’s opponent, Avneil Yashpal, over rule breaking during the campaign. Yashpal later withdrew the complaint before polls opened. Another complaint he filed towards Bello after polls closed was subsequently struck down by the Electoral Monitoring Committee (EMC).
Yashpal appealed the decision, delaying the ratification of election results.
“Once again, the UWSA council has completely abdicated their responsibility of management of the organization, and have made a mockery of the democratic process,” former EMC member, Andrew Langille, lamented. “Their failures continue, and the question is, ‘When will it end’?”
An issue of concern raised at the meeting involved the election referendum to create an oversight board for The Lance. The board would have managerial and financial control over the newspaper. Teeuwen brushed the issue aside, saying he had used the proper channels for advertising the referendum even though he previously admitted to not properly advertising.
Teeuwen pointed to several problems with the elections including mis-advertising an all-candidates meeting prior to the election. However, he said this problem was averted at the last minute by having a liaison stand at the CAW Student Centre’s Ambassador Auditorium, directing meeting goers to an alternate location at the Toldo Health Education Centre.
The CRO said next year’s council will have to restructure its method of voting. He added that less paper ballots should be used, and that a more reliable computer system should be implemented.
On the first day of voting, polls shut down for three hours due to a computer crash.
Teeuwen’s major recommendations included increasing the voting period next year from two days to three while decreasing the campaigning period from 14 days to nine.
He said that 2,300 students split their votes between the first and second days of voting, and that a third election day may produce greater voter turnout.
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