As of 1 pm this Wednesday, 1,237 students casted their votes in the 2022 DUSA Executive elections, amounting to the total of 5,763 votes, reveals Samantha McElhinney, the current Vice-President of Representation.
With nearly 18,000 students eligible to vote, the turnout has not yet reached 7%. This number is significantly lower if compared with the last year's final result (~14.5%). Traditionally most students vote on either the first or the last day of the elections. With less than 20 hours to go, our team estimates that the final turnout will not exceed 10%.
Why is the turnout significantly lower this year?
The low turnout in student elections is a UK-wide occurrence. What makes this year particularly concerning is the lack of candidates for the School President positions. Naturally, the more candidates and the more extensive their campaigns are, the higher the turnout. With so many positions being vacant, less students are inclined to vote.
Marcin Kielczewski