The University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) board of directors amended the UMSU election manual at the Jan. 16 meeting. The changes put forward in Motion 0636 by the governance committee followed the 2024 chief returning officer’s report which outlined changes to make to the manual.
“Most of the changes have to do with specifying terminology, definitions, while making them more clear or just removing references to things that don’t exist anymore,” said Brooke Hilland, member of the governance committee. “We just generally believe that they’ll help elections run more smoothly.”
One of the changes includes clarifying the criteria that are necessary to be nominated as a candidate.
Only a “student in good standing” with the union can be nominated as a candidate, which is now defined as “an UMSU member who has demonstrated and actively adheres to the UMSU governing documents, demonstrating integrity, professional conduct and compliance with all relevant standards and regulations, while upholding the organization’s values.”
The definition indicates that this includes UMSU bylaws, position statements, the governance and operations manual, elections manual, referendum manual and all other rules and procedures governing UMSU and conduct in UMSU spaces, the university and the community.
The student seeking candidacy must also not have been disciplined in the last calendar year by UMSU, must have paid all required student union fees and comply with U of M policies.
“This status ensures that the student is recognized as a responsible member of the student body, eligible to run for a position within the student union,” states the amended manual.
The chief returning officer (CRO) also “has the jurisdiction to determine a student’s eligibility, even if specific circumstances may not strictly align with this.”
UMSU president Divya Sharma clarified that rulings by the CRO on student ineligibility for candidacy will be made public, following a question from Gurpahul Kaur, UMSU director for the Arts Student Body Council.
“Any sort of ruling that the CRO makes is made public and is published on the website to be shared with the general public,” said Sharma.
Candidates must also be able to fulfill their responsibilities in-person to be eligible to be nominated as a candidate.
Other changes include substituting “pre-campaigning” for “campaign planning” in the elections manual and defining the term. A clause was added stating that “students who take virtual classes may pay their dues at the office and run, volunteer and/or vote.”
A requirement was also removed from the manual pertaining to the production of campaign material by the union’s digital copy centre.
For more information about UMSU’s general election, visit umsu.ca/elections.
