Analysis from Roar can reveal that almost half (47%) of student society committee positions up for election in the King’s College London Student Union (KCLSU) elections, opening for voting on Monday, have no candidate running at all.
Of the 1,272 vacant posts, 371 were for either the President or Treasurer of a society. Both of these roles are necessary for a society to continue functioning, according to KCLSU bye-laws.
Over 60% of societies are missing candidates for either President or Treasurer.
Nominations for unfilled positions automatically re-open ahead of by-elections in April. However, roles left vacant after by-elections cannot be part of the committee next year.
If this role is President or Treasurer, the society is unable to function.
A notable example is KCL Politics Society, the largest KCLSU society with over 400 members, which currently has no candidates for either President or Treasurer.
Joshua Robinson, President of KCL Politics Society, explained the difficulty he has faced in finding a replacement President and Treasurer for the next academic year. He said, “Speaking on behalf of the academic societies, I think it’s fair to say we’ve had a really incredible couple of years.”
He continued, “Certainly in politics, we’ve grown so much recently as a society and are about as busy as you could possible imagine a student organisation to be.
“Last year, when that boom was in full swing, that was exciting and encouraged a real push of people wanting to carry and direct that boom.
“Now that growth has become a more constant feature and the society has saturated its activity, it seems some of the excitement of working in the committee has been eroded.”
Robinson offered some possible reasons for this fall in engagement in elections across KCLSU societies – ranging from the bar being set too high across many societies, with presidents, including himself, having not done enough to motivate successors, or with student leaders’ complaints about the SU a regular occurrence these have deterred would-be successors.
However, he argued, “What is clear in these elections is that we need more engagement, we need a rung of ambitious first and second years to set the agenda, to build upon the foundations our cohort has so masterfully built.”
Members will be able to vote when polls open at 10:00 on Monday, 3 March.
There are 2682 election positions available across 380 groups and societies.
To stand in committee elections or vote, a student must have purchased a membership before the 27 January; other criteria to run for committee can be added by the society.
KCLSU failed to respond to a request by Roar for a statement.
