A student-wide referendum on a new constitution for Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has been delayed once again after council voted to defer a vote on the document to its next meeting.
The draft document was approved by consensus at a meeting of Union Forum, but the Electoral Commission has said that, since members did not raise their hands to formally vote, the document cannot be taken as approved.
TCDSU President Leah Keogh brought an emergency motion to council this evening, but it was overridden – after a lengthy debate – by a procedural motion to bring the matter to the next meeting of council in September.
Keogh told council: “Union Forum, in good faith, voted by consensus and asked for dissents, of which there were none.”
“I would ask you all in the name of democracy, to see this process through, that we allow council to decide for themselves whether this is the document they would like to go to referendum”, she said.
Ethnic Minorities Officer and President-elect Gabi Fullam said the proposed constitution is “better than the old one”. Calling the process by which it was brought to council undemocratic, she said “doesn’t really make sense insofar as it’s definitely a better one. It’s a technicality by which this is pulled”
I’m really proud of the current document as it stands, and I think it’s important we do put it through.”
STEM Convenor and Education Officer-elect Zoe Cummins spoke against Keogh’s motion, arguing that council members had not had enough time to read the draft document. Council only received the document on Saturday, she said, and updates were still being made after that. “That’s not fair on you, to read that”, she told council.
Undergraduate Studies Committee Representative Yannick Gloster also spoke against the emergency motion, saying: “This [draft] constitution has more problems and was rushed, and has legitimately more typos than our current constitution used to have. It’s not finished and if UF want to be serious about bringing constitution to council, they should bring one that actually represents its students and works as a functional document.”
Class representative and Students4Change Chair László Molnárfi defended Keogh, saying it was “absolutely undemocratic” to “[use] technicalities as an excuse to not let democracy happen”.
The new constitution is much better. It’s much more democratic”, he said.
In an email statement to The University Times Chair of Council Adam Balchin said: After the Electoral Commission was requested to give a constitutional interpretation by a member of the Union on a specific provision regarding Union Forum … the Electoral Commission deemed that, in relation to the proposed motion, Union Forum did not conduct a formal vote, in which supermajority(75%) would have been needed to put this motion to Council.”
This supermajority is outlined in the union’s constitution. TCDSU President Leah Keogh asked Union Forum members if they dissented to the document, but none did.
Balchin said: “Due to this failure of following formalities, the EC determined that this motion was not proposed to council on the correct basis and thus was removed from the agenda at my request.”
The final meeting of council this year is taking place this evening. Last week’s meeting was adjourned and an impromptu town hall was held instead as the gathering was inquorate, or did not have enough members present for votes to be held.
