{"id":178241,"date":"2025-04-23T11:38:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=178241"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:47","slug":"significant-increase-in-voter-turn-out-for-university-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/04\/23\/significant-increase-in-voter-turn-out-for-university-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Significant increase in voter turn-out for University Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Erasmus Student Coalition has won the elections for the University Council. In total, nearly one and a half times as many students voted in the University Council elections as last year. This continues the upward trend in voter turnout since the introduction of the party system in 2022.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSonja Schravesande<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

The Student Coalition received slightly more votes than the current largest faction, Liberi Erasmi. Both parties will now have four seats each. OUR Erasmus (3) and Erasmus International (1) also secured seats. This means all twelve seats for students in the council have been filled. As was the case last year, no individual candidate surpassed the electoral threshold.<\/p>\n

Ten hours of campaigning<\/h2>

Of all the candidates of the Student Coalition, Deniz Alican received the highest number of votes, which is remarkable for someone in sixth place on the list. \u201cI worked very hard on my campaign. I was on campus five days a week, ten hours a day\u201d, she explains her electoral success. \u201cMy aim wasn\u2019t just to secure votes, but to really build a connection with students. Some have even become friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Erasmus leeft van internationale studenten, dus ik wil graag een stem voor hen zijn\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

In the council, she aims to advocate for international students, who are under pressure due to the new internationalisation law, particularly in Psychology, her programme. \u201cErasmus thrives on international students, so I want to be the voice of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Liberi was the largest party with five seats, but they have lost one this time. The Coalition, on the other hand, has grown from three to four seats. Among all EUR students, 15.1 per cent cast their vote, compared to 9.8 per cent last year, which was already a record.<\/p>\n

Five complaints regarding the campaign<\/h2>

This year\u2019s election results were presented for the first time during a public hearing. In a lecture hall in the Theil Building, the Central Election Office reviewed five complaints about irregularities during the campaign. Candidates can have their campaign budget reduced if they violate the regulations.<\/p>\n

None of the complaints were upheld. However, a complaint regarding disruptive campaign actions at study locations may lead to an addition to the campaign regulations, to ban campaigning in study areas.<\/p>\n

Three seats vacant<\/h2>

This year, staff members had limited options in the elections. Only at the faculties of Erasmus School of Law and the Erasmus School of Philosophy were elections held. At both faculties, the incumbent council members retained their seats: Federica Violi in Law and Max Wagenaar in Philosophy.<\/p>\n

There was no interest in the seat at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus MC, and Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, leaving three of the twelve seats temporarily vacant. Elections will be held again later this year for these faculties. At five other departments, candidates obtained their seats without elections.<\/p>\n

The new council will commence after the summer.<\/p>\n\t

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All elected members<\/span><\/p>\n

Students:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Erasmus Student Coalition:<\/strong> Deniz Alican, Dogukan Demirb\u00fcken, Bilal El Allouchi, and Mohamed Khalil.<\/p>\n

Liberi Erasmi:<\/strong> Reinier van Woerden, Lourdes Wansink, Joseph Ayinla, Tola Saber<\/p>\n

OUR Erasmus:<\/strong> Bodi Winkler, Rik Alleleijn, Simon Maas<\/p>\n

Erasmus International:<\/strong> Borja Ranzinger<\/p>\n

Staff:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Albert Wagelmans (ESE), Federica Violi (ESL), Linda Dekker (ESSB), Clara Egger (ESSB), Max Wagenaar (ESPhil), Iwona Gusc (ESHCC), Jaap Cornelese (PRO), Sebastiaan Kamp (PRO), Rosita Boedhai (ISS). Seats at Erasmus MC, ESHPM, and RSM remain vacant.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t