Hassan Ali Wins KCLSU Presidential Election on Platform of “Imperative” Change

The incumbent Vice-President (VP) of Welfare & Community, whose suspension was confirmed in a Roar exclusive, has been elected as the President of the King’s College London Students’ Union (KCLSU) for the 2024/25 academic year.

This result can be seen as a rejection of the Union’s current stance on its elected Officers. In autumn 2023, Hassan and two elected colleagues released a statement condemning the KCLSU for their “tight-lipped attitude” on Israel and Gaza. The next day, they accused “senior leadership” of “intimidation and mistreatment”.

The Union have not publicly commented on the case since December 7, although Roar understands that the three Officers’ disciplinary case is still ongoing. Their public comments may have been in violation of the Trustees’ Code of Conduct.

Should Hassan be found by the Union to have violated the Code of Conduct, his eligibility for the Presidency would be in question. KCLSU Bye-Law 2.13 states that “You will not be eligible to be a KCLSU Trustee if you have failed to comply with the Trustees’ Code of Conduct”. This is repeated verbatim in the ‘KCLSU Full Time Officer eligibility’ section of the Student Officer Job Pack.

Hassan’s manifesto included the campaign pledges to “adjust the By-Laws to empower student representatives from various sectors of King’s” and “establish a democratic student council with the mandate to vote on KCLSU’s stance on various political and humanitarian issues”. It also included references to ‘systematic flaws’ and the need for ‘imperative change’ in the Union.

“After facing push-back for representing the student voice, I believe it is vital to reform King’s College London Students Union into an organization truly representative of and responsive to student needs.”

Hassan Ali’s Presidential manifesto

His campaign slogan was “Vote for Reformation, where silence is broken, and the system’s flaws are openly spoken!”

Results for the other university-wide posts have also been announced:

• VP Activities & Development – Virajit Singh
• VP Education (Arts & Sciences) – Madeeha Saher
• VP Education (Health) – Julia Kosowska
• VP Postgraduate – Sheeba Naaz
• VP Welfare & Community – Haneen Farid
• Student Trustees – Mueed Qurashi, Uhayd, Anaya Angal and Samira Omar

The KCLSU ‘Results’ page for the elections has since crashed. Students can follow Roar’s social media pages for more updates.