University of Manitoba Students’ Union (UMSU) election candidate Devkarn Singh Gehlot has breached election rules, according to a ruling from the chief returning officer (CRO) Jodie Smith.

Singh Gehlot, who contested the position of racialized students’ representative, was ruled to have engaged in third party campaigning and was found to have posted campaign material without CRO approval.

In a complaint to the CRO by Manpreet Kaur on March 4, Kaur alleged that Singh Gehlot breached third party advertising rules and provided images of a “person doing tabling who is not from university, not even a student,” the complainant wrote.

The 2025 UMSU election nomination package defines third party advertising as “any material, endorsement, monetary or other support of a candidate or side coming from a group or individual who is not a member of the union,” which is “not allowed in any form.”

The CRO’s ruling acknowledged that Singh Gehlot had a paid-content creator who was taking photographs for his campaign but wrote that “this person was situated behind the table and gave the appearance of volunteering/tabling for the candidate.”

“Having someone there to take his picture was not an issue but the appearance that this person was tabling for him was a problem,” wrote the CRO.

The decision further stated that “pictures were found on [social media] stories of the third party with the candidate” who “was not aware he could not have this person with him.” Singh Gehlot did not receive approval for the posts, according to the ruling.

The UMSU Election Manual states that “all campaign materials must be approved by the CRO before they may be used in a campaign” and that the CRO will provide written approval or refusal within 24 hours of receiving a complete request.

Singh Gehlot accuses CRO of bias, inefficient system

Singh Gehlot stated that the CRO advised him in an email statement to be “discreet” with the photographer and “not on your table looking like he’s helping.”

“The main problem I have with that is how is a photographer supposed to be discreet especially in a place like UMSU [University Centre]?” stated Singh Gehlot.

“We are trying to get quality photos and not zoomed-in pictures,” he said.

He criticized the CRO of being “very biased toward a set few candidates,” alleging that she “does not take complaints against them seriously.” He claimed that the CRO “refused to investigate one of the complaints” from another candidate.

Singh Gehlot acknowledged the demerits received for not getting approval for the social media posts as “valid,” but added that “it is extremely inefficient for one CRO to approve every single [social media] story/post” of all 34 candidates during the campaign period.

“There should be a team and not just a single individual.”

Singh Gehlot also alleged that “the CRO did not actively monitor” candidates’ social media campaigns, claiming that “she only took action when complaints were filed.”

CRO responds to the criticism 

Smith responded, “in spite of the unprecedented number of candidates this year, I responded to all emails within a few hours or less.

“I was also available to support candidates in my office for much longer than posted office hours,” she said.

“Any candidate who felt they were unfairly assessed had the appeal process available to them throughout the campaign period.”

Singh Gehlot was issued 10 demerits for third party campaigning and another 10 demerits for not receiving approval before posting campaign material.

The UMSU Election Manual states that the CRO will assign demerits to candidates that violate election rules, with candidates being disqualified after obtaining 50 demerits.