Updated Feb. 1, 12:21 p.m. – THERE’S only one presidential candidate in this year’s Central Student Council (CSC) polls, after the party of the incumbent president was unable to field a bet for the top post.
But Lakas Tomasino Coalition (LTC) standard-bearer Rubi Anne Dauan of the Faculty of Engineering is not a shoo-in for the post as the rules require a “50 percent plus one” voter turnout for her to win the highest position in the student government.
Lakas ng Diwang Tomasino (Lakasdiwa), the political group of current CSC president Lorraine Taguiam, has yet to explain why it did not field a candidate in this year’s presidential race.
Dauan, an Industrial Engineering junior, is the current vice president-internal of the Engineering Student Council.
If Dauan doesn’t meet the required 50 percent voter turnout—as mandated by Article I, Sec. 7 of the Student Election Code of 2007—a special election will be held in June. The elected vice-president will not assume the presidential office.
Based on the list of candidates released by the Central Comelec today, the bets for vice president are Speech Pathology junior Raymond Angelo Gonzales (LTC) and Business Education sophomore Guammer Partosa (Lakasdiwa), incumbent president of the Rehabilitation Sciences Student Council and assistant treasurer of the Commerce and Business Administration Student Council, respectively.
For the position of secretary, Architecture Student Council president Weejee Decena of Lakasdiwa will compete against Tourism and Hospitality Management Student Council public relations officer Kendra Maxine Duran of LTC.
Accountancy sophomore John Paul Lazaro of LTC will go against Accountancy junior Joanna Loise Culianan of Lakasdiwa for treasurer.
Biochemistry sophomore James Ariel David (Lakasdiwa) will compete against Commerce sophomore Via Guerrero (LTC) for the position of auditor.
Pharmacy sophomore Cris Angelo Gonzales, LTC’s bet for public relations officer, will run against Communications Arts sophomore Jan Michael Borja.
The CSC elections will be held simultaneously with local student council elections. Polls open Feb. 1 at the College of Architecture. The Faculty of Civil Law will have elections on Feb. 9, followed by the College of Education on Feb. 10, and the Faculty of Sacred Theology, College of Nursing, and Faculty of Pharmacy on Feb. 13 to 14.
The remaining colleges will have their elections on Feb. 15 to 17.
The mandatory debate or “miting de avance” will be on Feb. 9 at the Quadricentennial Park.
Voter turnout must be at least 25 percent of the Thomasian student population, otherwise, failure of elections will be declared.
Last year’s election had a voter turnout of 64.5 percent, or only 26, 622 voters out of the student population of 41,274.
Proclamation of winners will be on Feb. 18. Reden D. Madrid
sana naman sa ma-eelect na CSC, may magawa na silang matino. Sana magawa na yung students code kasi un na nga lang, hindi pa magawa… Kysa sa magreklamo sa budget at kng ano-ano pa, sana madama kayo ng maliliit na tomasino. Kasi sa totoo lang, mas feel namin ang SOCC sa inyo…
Ay sus, eto na naman ang bagong uupo sa opisina ng CSC, ang mga bagong mangangako na may students code. Noong pumasok ako ng UST sabi ng CSC ay magkakaroon ng students code, almost 5 years later…asan na? Graduating na ko wala pa rin.