Democracy wins in Selwyn as new JCR president is finally elected

Students voted to reopen nominations in the vote for the JCR president

by Eric Williams

This article is 3 years old

Friday November 11 2022, 8:00pm

Students at Selwyn College have finally elected a new president in their JCR election, after a hard fought-for campaign.

In earlier stages, students had supported reopening nominations (RON) ahead of electing any of the nominated candidates. RON had gained 59.9% of the vote, with both Sam Hollis and Owen Cooper receiving less than a quarter of the student vote each.

Selwyn votes to reopen nominations in JCR presidential election

RON is an option in elections run by the Students’ Union, which allows students to vote for the election to be run again, potentially with a broader field of candidates.

After long deliberations, Elina Smith ultimately came out on top, with 99 votes to Matthew Doyle’s 77 after five stages.

Selwyn students suggested that the earlier success for RON was in part the result of information circulated on social media, particularly Selfessions – the anonymous Selwyn Facebook confessions page.

The second round vote took place on Tuesday 08/11.

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