Liberi Erasmi wins record University Council elections

Liberi Erasmi has won the University Council elections. The conservative right-wing student party received slightly more votes than rival OUR Erasmus. More students cast their votes than ever before.

Liberi and OUR each take four of the twelve student seats in the council. Erasmus Student Coalition, last year still the largest, loses a seat and is left with three. The twelfth seat in the council is taken by Erasmus International.

Turnout was a record for the third year in a row. A total of 5,445 votes were cast, which amounts to 18.5 per cent of eligible students. Last year 15.1 per cent voted and the year before 9.8 per cent. Those were already records at the time.

The sharp increase is probably due to the replacement of the faculty-based system by the party system in 2022. That made it worthwhile for candidates to campaign on campus, more students became eligible to vote and the parties put more candidates on their lists, giving students more people to vote for. Candidates can still run individually in the elections, but for them it now seems almost impossible to win a seat. This year two students ran individually, but both fell far short of the electoral threshold.

Lead candidate usually not the most popular

Notably, except for OUR Erasmus the lead candidate did not receive the most votes. The most popular individual candidate proved to be Safae Arouch; she was only fifth on the Student Coalition list but still secured 339 votes, almost twice as many as the lead candidate of her party. For Liberi, Tom Valkenburg received 290 votes, well over a hundred more than the list leader. Borja Ranzinger, the lead candidate of Erasmus International, received four votes fewer than number five Trisha Tiari. Ranzinger says he will take the seat nevertheless.

Who will represent Liberi Erasmi in the council is not yet certain. The party usually doesn’t follow the order set by the Central Electoral Committee but looks at the number of votes per individual. The party members will determine exactly who will sit on the council on Saturday.

The University Council also includes twelve staff members, but they are elected every two years and will therefore remain for another year before elections are held again.

Right to approve

The University Council has, among other things, the right to approve the broad outlines of the university’s budget and various university regulations. In addition, the council gives the Executive Board solicited and unsolicited advice on a wide range of topics. The council meets four times every six weeks on Tuesday and its meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend.