Polling stations student council elections reopen as of today

Student party De Vrije Student, the Central Student Council (CSR) and law student Roza Wagenaer filed an emergency appeal with the Council of State after the voting period ended on May 17. They demanded that the elections be extended by two days because the UvA was closed for two days exactly during election week, due to disturbances and occupations on several campuses. Although the elections are digital, physical campaigning was not possible. Students felt this was unfair.

Lucky

“Every party should have a fair chance to participate in elections. Elections are so much more than just voting. At its core it is about the contact between voter and electorate, the substantive debate between the candidates and the campaign as part of the democratic process. In that light, I found the choice of the central electoral committee not to renew incomprehensible,” Roza Wagenaer, also president of the Amsterdam section  of De Vrije Student, said in her plea at the hearing yesterday. Today, she adds, a fluke also helped her. “When I filed the appeal on Friday, I did not know that only individuals (and not parties) can file an appeal. Therefore, I was able to be vindicated.” The appeal filed by both party De Vrije Student and the CSR was declared inadmissible.

Reminder email

“The supplier of the voting application will reopen the system as of noon today and we will then continue where we left off Friday evening at noon,” says Jacqueline Groot Antink, secretary of the UvA’s central voting committee. “People who haven’t voted yet will again receive a voting link in their mailboxes. Actually, it’s similar to the reminder e-mail we always send during the regular election week as well.” Voting is possible until noon Monday, including the weekend.