Ron Won
HERTFORD STUDENT STEPHEN Farrow narrowly failed in his bid to become president of his JCR this week as the JCR voted to re-open nominations.
In a well attended election the second year history student managed to gain support from 110 JCR members.
However the unopposed candidate was rejected by 116 students who voted to return to the husting process rather than elect Farrow as president. There were also 8 spoilt ballots that proved to be decisive in the final result.
There will now be new hustings on Sunday of 8th week for the presidency along with other positions on the JCR exec. The results are to be announced on the Friday just before the university breaks for Christmas.
In a response to the result, Farrow is quoted as saying; "it is the right of every JCR member to use their democratic right to vote as they see fit." He added that he has received encouragement from within the JCR to stand again in 8th week, something he says he is "actively considering."
In accordance with the JCR constitution, this second attempt to elect a president will not include an option to re-open nominations. If Farrow stands unopposed again he will become JCR president automatically.
There is no real indication of why Farrow proved to be such an unpopular choice. Supporters of Farrow have suggested that the result was a case of people preferring to have a choice of candidates to choose between, rather than any particular problem with Farrow or his manifesto.
However other sources have suggested that his speech at hustings did not appeal to the JCR members, as it made him look "arrogant" and "confrontational".
Either way, Hertford students are going to have to wait until the end of term before the position is filled.
16th Nov 2000