Peter Caddle, one of two candidates in the race to become editor of The University Times, has been given a minor strike by the Electoral Commission (EC).
The EC issued the minor strike – which resulted in a 90-minute ban from social media — after Caddle’s campaign Instagram account requested to follow multiple people an hour outside the campaign hours.
In an email statement to The University Times, Chair of the EC Yannick Gloster said that the incident “is in breach of the election regulations as per Schedule 3 – 2.4.2 and is therefore afforded a minor strike with a ban from social media for an hour and a half during campaign hours, effective immediately”.
Caddle did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Caddle is the fifth candidate in this year’s Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) elections to receive a strike. Presidential candidates Leah Keogh and Ben Cummins have both received a major and a minor strike. Education candidates Daniel O’Reilly and Bev Genockey have also each received a minor strike.
The editor race has been one of the more divisive of the election campaign. On Friday, Caddle pulled out of the Equality hustings, where he was “empty chaired”. Moderators questioned him on insulting comments he has made about women and members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as his affiliation with the Burkean, which has previously promoted eugenics.
His opponent in the race is Emer Moreau, who was the newspaper’s deputy editor until she temporarily stepped down to run for election.
Candidates have already faced four out of the five hustings as we enter the second week of the campaign.
The final hustings – organised by the JCR – will take place on Tuesday at 6pm, the same day that voting starts.
Voting will end on Thursday, and the winners will be announced that evening. Voter registration will close on Tuesday at 6pm, when the final hustings are set to begin.
This has proven to be an unusual TCDSU election campaign, as candidates grapple with the shift to online campaigning.
