No Confidence crashed to a stunning defeat in the OUSA Campaigns Officer by-election, collecting a meagre 2.7 per cent of the vote as Masters student Rachael Davidson swept to victory.
Davidson collected 189 votes, or 39 per cent – a margin of 47 votes (9.7 per cent) over second-placed Dan Ellingham, who even with a three-way split in the sensible vote was unable to ride the meathead constituency to victory.
Davidson ran on a platform of opposition to the North Dunedin liquor ban and increasing awareness of mental health issues in the student body. Her campaign was notably better-run than those of her competitors. According to an OUSA spokesperson, “this shows that more advertising of your candidacy works.”
OUSA President Francisco Hernandez was happy with the result. “I would say the best candidate won,” he said. “The voters are never wrong.” Critic asked Hernandez whether this extended to John Key and Hitler. He awkwardly answered in the affirmative.
484 students voted in the by-election, a slight improvement on the 451 who voted in the Welfare Officer by-election. Hernandez said the turnout was “good, but it could have been better,” noting that “ideally, [at least] 50 per cent of the student body would vote in these elections.” Critic wonders how a turnout less than one-twentieth of the “ideal” number could reasonably be described as “good.”
The result means that OUSA will finally have a full Executive after its third by-election of the year. The Campaigns Officer position became vacant in mid-March after Ruby Sycamore-Smith, the former Campaigns Officer, won the Welfare Officer by-election.
“I’m looking forward to working cooperatively with my executive to make a difference to students,” Fran said, reading from his Soundbites 101 notes.
Logic prevails in OUSA by-election
