Who is allowed to run in the elections?

For the Executive Officer elections all current students are able to run in the elections, they are full time paid positions (£20,800). If you are a non-final year student then you would be required to take a break from your studies to take up the role, if this isn’t something that you would like to do then why not consider running for one of the Part Time Officer roles that you are able to do alongside your studies, therefore you must be be a registered student next year in order to nominate yourself. 

When do the roles start

Executive Officer formally take up their role on 1^st July 2021 but training will commence from the middle of June onwards. For the Part Time Officers there will be a full training programme that will be organised for September and you will commence your role formally at the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year.

When do Nominations Close?

Nominations were open between Wednesday 27 January at 8.00am to Tuesday 16 February at midday. 

When does voting take place?

Voting is open between 8.00am on March 1 to midday on Friday March 5  online at www.leicesterunion.com/vote . Voting is conducted under the Single Transferable Voting (STV) system, further details of how this works can be found at https://www.leicesterunion.com/voice/elections/elections/single-transferable-voting/

What are the key rules within the election?

• Abide by University Regulations, Union Bye-laws and the Law including current Covid related Lockdown/Tier restrictions, in particular any reports of Racism within the election will be treated extremely seriously. 
• Keep within your budget (£120 for Executive Officers and £50 for Part Time Officers and £20 for NUS National Conference Delegates) – please note that you will be required to submit receipts for any item/material that you use, if you already own the item then please ask us to make a costing before 1 pm on Thursday 4 March. If you exceed your budget you are likely to be disqualified from the election process.
• Any reports from students that they felt as though they were pressured to vote against their true intentions will be treated extremely seriously, it is also not permitted to vote on someone elses behalf. You have to be particuarly careful in this respect when students are using electronic devices ensuring that students are able to complete their vote in confidence and without undue pressure
• Campaigning begins on Friday 26 February at 10.00am, any campaigning activity that falls within the scope of pre-campaigning as defined in appendix A is prohibited prior to this time.
• All campaigning is required to meet  current Covid-19 restrictions and therefore face to face campaigning, handing of leaflets, flyers or other materials and displaying posters and other campaign material wouldn’t be a legitimate reason to leave your residence.  You would however be able to talk to people within your bubble (including any support bubbles) face to face.  

A copy of the full rules and timetable for the elections can be found at https://www.leicesterunion.com/voice/elections/candidate-resources/ 

What constitutes as pre-campaigning?

Campaigning commences at 10.00am on Friday 10 am Friday 26 February, prior to there is no active campaign,

What is permitted prior to 10.00am on 26 February?

• Preparing election materials including online events/sites, videos etc...
• Seeking help from friends/colleagues for your campaign, building your campaign team.
• Asking in general terms what issues are affecting students or views on ideas.
• Asking student groups for their endorsements is permitted as long as communication is restricted to the committee members within that group. 
  • If a student group has said that they will endorse you, then you are able to mention this when approaching other student groups. 
  • You are permitted to include details of the student groups that are endorsing you on your manifesto and other publicity material
  • Student groups are unable to publicly endorse you until the beginning of campaigning.
  • Student groups would be able to hold their husting events during this week but couldn’t then make public who they were supporting

What isn’t permitted?

• Online posts on social media saying that you are re-running
• Face to face campaigning
• Encouraging students to vote for you in any way
• Your friends/supporters and Student Groups that you are a member of publicising that you are running
  • Student Groups publicly endorsing a candidate prior to campaigning starting.
• Lecture Shout-outs including at virtual classes
• Giving a speech or letting students know that you are running at an event e.g. student group online event.
• Campaigning on virtual events or nights out e.g. O2 online events.
• Posters/Flyers or any election promotion material appearing in a public place

Are there any rules regarding student groups including whether they can endorse a candidate?

Student Groups are able to endorse candidates in the election, approaches by candidates to student groups can be made prior to the start of campaigning but no public declaration of support can be made prior to the start of campaigning.  

Is negative campaigning permiitted?

There are no rules with regard to negative campaigning.  It is expected that there will be instances where campaigners or candidates will challenge manifesto points or say for example candidate X isn’t very good, this isn’t against the election regulations. In this scenario we encourage candidates and their campaign teams to stay as focussed as they can on their campaign and getting their message out to as many students as possible. In addition, we encourage all candidates to run  positive campaigns as we believe this is the best way of engaging with and encouraging students to vote in the election.

Can current Executive Officers campaign in the election?

If a current executive officer is running in the election as a candidate then they are allowed to campaign, in addition those officers who have declared an interest can support candidates within the election. Executive Officers who don’t fit into either of these categories are required to remain neutral. Those officers who are campaigning must take annual leave to do so and are unable to utilise their work based social media accounts as part of their campaign.

If I have any queries or are unhappy with an aspect of the election who should I contact?

Queries should be directed to the election team at su-elections@le.ac.uk , Formal complaints must be submitted prior to one hour after the close of voting  using the complaints form at https://www.leicesterunion.com/surveys/electioncomplaintsform/ 

When will the results be announced?

Results are announced online at 6.00pm on Friday 5 March, everyone is welcome.