UCD election called off after cheating by President Aeonghus O Hourihane

Friday March 01, 2002 21:02

by silo

Following several attempts by the present UCD Student's Union President Aeonghus O Hourihane to influence the voting in the Student's Union Sabbatical Elections, the decision has been made by the returning officer to call the elections off.

Following several attempts by the present UCD Student's Union President Aeonghus O Hourihane to influence the voting in the Student's Union Sabbatical Elections, the decision has been made by the returning officer to call off the election for the position of SU president and hold it again in three weeks.

O Hourihane used his influence with certain UCD societies - most notably the C&E Society, dominated by the same Fianna-Fail-affiliated groups as elements in the Students' Union - to increase the amount of exposure he was getting on campus. This included the C&E having a spurious debate with a motion of 'That this house would re-elect Aeonghus O Hourihane', featuring large posters with a picture of O Hourihane.

When this was brought to the attention of the returning officer, he confiscated the posters. O Hourihane's campaign team subsequently got the C&E to put up posters about O Hourihane's opponent in an attempt to force the returning officer to confiscate these as well, and this illegal act was the final act that resulted in the election being cancelled.

O Hourihane is only one in a long line of Presidents of the UCD Students' Union to act illegally - his predecessor, Eamonn O Lionnain, removed the editorial and financial independence of the Students' Union paper, the University Observer, and subsequently illegally appointed approved candidates to editorial positions in contravention of both the Students' Union constitution and the wishes of the students as expressed in a referendum on the matter.

O Hourihane also follows the tradition of being a member of Fianna Fail with previous incumbents. The presidents of the Students' Union for four of the last five years have been members of the Kevin Barry Cumann, the UCD Fiannna Fail branch.

Apart from the Entertainments office and some incumbents of the Welfare office, all the sabbatical officers positions in the Union for the past decade have been filled by members of the main political parties - Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Fein. Proposals to make membership of the Students' Union voluntary for ordinary students, thus reducing the grip of the main parties on Union power, are regularly ignored or dismissed in Students' Union meetings.