QMessenger 23

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QMessenger

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Men’s football 2s lose cup final on penalties

Tuition fees - what should

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23rd March ‘10 • Issue 23 • FREE

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Editors Editor: Sam Cunningham editor@qmessenger.co.uk News: Sam Creighton news@qmessenger.co.uk Comment: Bradley Downing comment@qmessenger.co.uk Science & Environment: Richard Dodwell science@qmessenger.co.uk Craig Ferriman environment@qmessenger.co.uk Reviews: Helen Knight & Rebecca Wynter reviews@qmessenger.co.uk Film: Alex MacDonald film@qmessenger.co.uk

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Two Queen Mary students are disqualified from ULU elections Sam Cunningham Two Queen Mary students running in the recent University of London Union (ULU) elections have been disqualified for cheating – and were likely to have won had their votes counted. Ghazi Afthab Rahman and Viktoria Szmolar, running for President and Vice-President respectively, were both informed that they had been disqualified from the election by the returning officer, Stephen Williams, who was in charge of the proceedings, half an hour before the results were announced. The figures released on ULU’s website suggest that 921 votes were invalid or spoilt in the Presidential election and 957 votes were similarly disregarded for the Vice-Presidential election after the disqualification. Though there are usually a small number of invalid votes during any election, these are particularly high as they include any votes for the disqualified candidates, and the large numbers imply that both candidates would more than likely have beaten their respective opponents, as the elected President Clare Solomon received 749 votes and elected Vice-President Ian Drummond 499.

Stephen Williams, who is also the Senior Chaplain for all the University of London Colleges, refused to reveal the exact reason for the disqualification of both candidates, instead responding: “There were a number of serious complaints made against the disqualified candidates and they were upheld. “I’ve had confidential meetings, face-to-face, with the candidates and they have been sent the details of the appeals procedure if they wish to appeal the decision.” An email response from the Elect2010 – the contact email address for questions regarding the elections – also corroborated this, stating: “Mr Rahman and Ms Szmolar were disqualified from their respective elections, after complaints were upheld regarding campaigning tactics employed on the QMUL campus.” Both students claim that the actions they took were within the rules and regulations of the elections. Szmolar said: “I was told half an hour before the results that I had been disqualified basically based on some regulations that don’t exist. “Some people complained about me and the returning officer said he asked for some senior officers to inspect us – I don’t even know who these senior officers are. He said that Continued page 4...

The University of London Union building on Malet Street houses the elected sabbatical officers

Ghazi Aftab Rahman and Viktoria Szmolar (right) disqualified from ULU elections


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