News From Felix - Sabbatical results are in!

Staggering 25% turn out to vote for highly contested elections

The results of this year's Sabbatical elections were announced on Wednesday amidst a packed crowd in Da Vinci's, where around 3,500 students voted to determine who would be running the Union next year. Initially the results were meant to be announced on Thursday night, but Returning Officer Christian Carter decided to move the date forward after all candidates agreed to have it earlier.

Mr Carter decided to release the results in reverse order, according to the number of votes casted. Starting with the Student Trustees, Mark Mearing-Smith was elected in the first round. Mr Mearing-Smith is joined by Esther Khan who won in the 5th round, Amaury Fastenakel who won in the 3rd round and Shah Rahman who won in the 6th round.

Next up were the results for Deputy President (Welfare) where John James proved that second time's a charm, as he beat Caroline Clark by 312 votes and Michael Powell who came in third with 501 votes. Clearly Mr James' energetic speeches worked where he promised to fight the increase in accommodation costs next year. A total of 1,957 people voted, only 188 more than last year.

Next up was the other newly formed position of Deputy President (Education) where Jonathan Silver came out victorious in the second round against Alex Grisman with Matthew Kaufeler falling in the first round along with RON. A massive 2,046 people voted, which was 277 more than the year before where it was a combined position for education and welfare.

The Knit-Soc queen and Social Clubs Committee chair, Jennifer Wilson, was named the new Deputy President (Clubs & Societies) after she managed to stave-off the Athletics Club Committee candidate Colette Gregory, winning in the first round by 1,214 votes to 846.
In the race for Deputy President (Finance & Services) the Royal School of Mines boy Danny Hill was up against Recreational Clubs Committee chair Peter Mabbott. At the final count, Danny Hill had 1,148 votes compared to Peter Mabbott's 850, meaning that Danny Hill will be taking control of the Union's budget next year.

In a rather surprising turn, it was indeed the position for Felix Editor that attracted the highest turn-out at 2,646 votes, which roughly equates to 25% of the electoral body at Imperial. In the first round, Zoe Dobell and RON were eliminated leaving this year's Deputy Editor and News Editor to fight it out to the bitter end. As has been the pattern over the past few years, the position for Felix Editor was a fiercely fought one, with only 65 votes in it. This very slim victory margin ended up favouring Dan Wan, who will be the new editor as Felix enters its 60th year.

Surprisingly, the position of Union President didn't attract the highest voting attendance, which has normally been the case in the past. This could be due to the fact that there was only one candidate running for the position, however, the RON candidate managed to put up a good fight. In the end, Ashley Brown was named the new Imperial College union President, winning the race with a 1,572 votes compared to 763 votes for RON.

In a rather surprising turn, it was indeed the position for Felix Editor that attracted the highest turn-out at 2,646 votes, which roughly equates to 25% of the electoral body at Imperial. In the first round, Zoe Dobell and RON were.

The close margin for Felix Editor has been a familiar sight in recent years, with this year's editor, Jovan Nedic, winning by only 78 votes against Greg Mead last year. Tom Roberts, who was recently named Guardian Media Student Journalist of the Year, only won his election against Emily Lines by 49 votes back in 2007.

This record-breaking turnout for Sabbatical elections shows how seriously the candidates have been taking the elections, which can only be a positive outcome for student democracy. Felix would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone that won and wishes them the best of luck. Trust me; you're going to need it.