On Oct. 18, the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA), Trent University’s undergraduate student union, cancelled its fall by-election after they received a student complaint of rule-breaking by a candidate.
Incumbent Riya Jaykar was accused of “helping students complete their ballots” in her bid for reelection according to TCSA Resource Manager Wendy Walker. Helping students to vote is prohibited under the union’s election rules.
“Because we are unsure of how many students were affected by this we have decided to do a re-vote,” says Walker.
Jaykar was disqualified from the election, and resigned from her position as TCSA President.
“In the almost 30 years of the TCSA this is the first time we have ever had to do a re-vote,” says Walker.
The second attempt at a fall by-election will open on Oct. 31 and will close on Nov. 7.
