Ahmed defeats incumbent and challenger to become BUSU President

Erik Dickson
The Brock Press
February 9, 2010

media credit: erik dickson

After a hard-fought campaign and three heated debates, Sohail Ahmed was elected as president of the Brock University Students’ Union for the 2010-11 year.

With a total of 2,570 votes cast, Ahmed received 1,179, beating out his competitors. Incumbent Lianne Bradley finished with 759 votes, while Daryl Paulin had 537.

The announcement was made at 2:25 a.m. on Feb. 12, with a dedicated crowd at Isaac’s celebrating the victory. Ahmed, the current Vice President Student Services, received 45.9 per cent of the total votes cast.

“There was no clear winner prior to result night which made everything so much more exiting,” said Ahmed. “The results were amazing to hear, but what really made my night was the amount of people who came to show support and celebrate.”

Throughout the campaign, Ahmed stated that, if elected, he would bring the “next big thing” to BUSU. This promise carried him to victory in a hotly contested battle for president, in which debates often saw Paulin asking for answers as to what the “next big thing” was, and how it would be paid for.

“It was a true presidential race with three great candidates who all put up a challenge for each other,” said Ahmed. “All three of us had platforms which proposed to take BUSU in three different directions. It is going to be an absolutely amazing year driving BUSU in the direction that students voted for.”

The youngest of the three candidates, Ahmed relied on his business experience and commitment to Brock students throughout the debates and campaign.

The most decisive victory of the 2010-11 BUSU Elections came in the race for Vice President University Affairs. Daud Grewal won 50.5 per cent of the vote. Candidates Deniz Ozturk and Luke Speers finished with 23.2 per cent and 22.1 per cent respectively. Grewal becomes the VPUA for the 2010-11 year, after finishing second in the presidential race to current President Lianne Bradley last year.

After being beat out in the race for VPUA last year, Sebastian Prins was elected Vice President Finance Administration, receiving 54.5 per cent of the vote. His competitor, Michael Tung, garnered 40.1 per cent.

As for Vice President Student Services, Kenneth Truong was elected with 44.1 per cent of the 2,549 votes cast. Rox Chwaluk finished second with 27.3 per cent, with Christopher Lindley receiving 23 per cent.

In addition to a new group of executives being elected, both referendums that were part of this year’s voting were passed.

The referendum for a Justice Centre at Brock, which will see a per credit charge of 85 cents added to BUSU fees, passed with 52.97 per cent of the 2,560 votes cast.

The Fee Replacement referendum also passed, with 57.3 per cent of students voting yes. This will result in $5 of current student fees being allocated in different areas. This will include a new $2 clubs levy, a $1 green initiatives levy, and a $2 increase to BUSU’s general operating budget.

Despite efforts by many of the candidates to convince students to make their voice heard in this year’s election, voter turnout improved only slightly from last year. The 2,570 total votes counted in the race for president was only about 50 votes higher than last year’s race.

This amount represents approximately 16 per cent of the student body.

The newly elected executive will take over as of May 1, 2010.

Originally Printed: The Brock Press