Updated on November 27, 7:26 p.m.
Omar El-Sharawy was elected Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) VP Internal today after a 24-hour voting period, Elections SSMU has announced. El-Sharawy’s term will begin in the Winter 2016 semester.
In an interview with The Daily prior to his election, El-Sharawy said that during his term, he intends to “ensure that events are not only successful, inclusive, fun, but also are accessible,” and that “inclusivity and social equity at events will be a main focus of mine.”
The by-election period also saw two joke campaigns from candidates Lou Bernardi and Jason Rutman, with Bernardi promising to resign immediately if elected, and Rutman citing having “watched all five seasons of Game of Thrones” among his qualifications.
This VP Internal by-election had a voter turnout of 8.7 per cent, even lower that the 16.7 per cent turnout in the first by-election last week, during which no candidate was elected.
The Daily endorsed El-Sharawy with reservations.
At 7:07 p.m., Elections SSMU sent an email stating that “there was an initial error in the calculation of the results by simplyvoting,” as it calculated the results using the Borda Count method, whereas the Electoral Bylaws mandate the use of an Instant Runoff method. Despite the error, El-Shawary still won the by-election with 55.48 per cent of student votes.