Finn Keyes | Current Affairs Editor
This week will see the final conclusion of the long running debate over Tom Lenihan’s position as SU President following the coming to light of disciplinary proceedings against him for cheating in his Summer examinations. The positions on both sides have been well thrashed out on the pages of this newspaper and others over the last few months. This article will not seek to address the merits of impeachment but rather inform readers of when, where and how the vote will take place and the practical effects of a vote either way on the running of the SU.
Campaigning formally began at Midnight on Friday the 25th with James Ringland, a Senior Sophister Law student, taking on the role of Campaign Manager (CM) for the No side. No one put themselves forward for the position of CM for the Yes side and nominations are now closed. The voting will take place over a three day period that began today at 10 am- 8pm in off- campus locations such as St. James’ Hospital, D’Olier Street and Tallaght Hospital. Voting will then start up again tomorrow at 10am on campus with voting finally closing at 8pm on Friday. The Count will begin immediately and a result is expected in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The extended voting hours (there will be a total of 30 voting hours) reflect the gravity and unique nature of the vote, though the Chair of the Electoral Commission, Ciara Coughlan, is keen to stress that “the EC will approach it as a normal election”.
In the event of a ‘No’ vote, Tom Lenihan will return immediately from his leave of absence and re-take control of the SU. However, should a ‘Yes’ vote be returned, the process of nominating and electing a new President would take at least a month. In this scenario, nominations for President would open on the Monday following the vote and would remain open for two weeks. The campaign itself would then last for another two weeks before a new President would finally be elected with he/she taking office at the beginning of the second week of December.
In the interim, Education Officer Jack Leahy would assume the President’s duties in addition to his own, though he has stated that he “would not use the title of President” during this time. When asked as to whether he or any of the other Sabbatical officers would consider taking the position full time, he said that the Sabbatical Officers “hadn’t discussed that possibility as a team and that we’re all currently satisfied with what we’re doing”.
What is clear is that whoever does assume the role will need to hit the ground running, familiarize themselves with the duties of the President and forge a strong working relationship with the rest of the Sabbatical team as the workload of the SU only increases as the year goes on.
