Voting has opened for the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU) sabbatical elections, and will close at 11:59pm on Friday.
Incumbent President Gisèle Scanlon and former GSU Executive member John Tighe are contesting the presidential race, while Abhisweta Bhattacharjee is running uncontested to serve a second year as vice president of the union.
Results will be announced on Saturday.
TCD Postgraduate Workers’ Alliance – an influential lobby group backed by the GSU – has endorsed Tighe for the presidency.
In a press statement last week, the group said: “The group believes that the TCD GSU is in an existential crisis and for Gisele Scanlon to serve another term as president could have devastating consequences for both TCD postgraduates and the union.”
“John Tighe has committed to upholding the mandate of the TCD PGWA in the TCD GSU and supports the national campaign for postgraduate workers’ rights.”
“He will work with the group in furthering the cause both on campus and nationally.”
The three candidates attended hustings last week, which saw the two incumbents focus on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on their duties, while also deflecting questions about petitions circulated earlier this year to impeach both of them.
Tighe, who ran for the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union presidency in 2012, emphasised his commitment to upholding the constitution and awaiting the results of the report before dealing with constitutional amendments that were voted through using a compromised voting system at the April EGM.
The union has had difficulties running elections and votes this year. At a chaotic EGM last April, the union used a voting system that did not verify whether those using it were actually entitled to vote. Several attendees reported that they were unable to vote, while others said that the voting link allowed users to vote several times.
The union also courted controversy in the running of its class representative elections last year. Qualtrics, the voting system used, allowed students who had access to a link to vote anonymously in the elections as many times as they wished.
The GSU will use Mi-Voice as its voting system for the sabbatical elections.
