Catch this article also in our Boto Bedista 2023 3.0 Special Issue

AFTER THE FILING of Certificates of Candidacy (CoCs) last August 23 for the Second Special Election for Student Council (SC) President, the College of Arts and Sciences’ (CAS) Electoral Board (ELBO) gave their take on the prospect of history repeating itself for the third time around. 

The CAS, for two consecutive school years, have held its elections online, utilising the online platform Microsoft Forms for students to submit their ballots.  

The ELBO, as the official student poll body, had been tasked with overlooking the processes for all Department- and College-wide polls, including the first two SC presidential elections, the second being the First Special Election for President, of the last academic year, 2022-2023. 

Now that the Second Special Election for President is underway, the ELBO is making all necessary preparations in case a third case of an “abstain” victory comes from the CAS community. 

The ELBO Chairperson, Ayrah Celline Asis, says that should another case of abstention be the majority vote again this Special Election, it will be the “first time in the history of San Beda University that there was no elected president after conducting two elections and a student assembly.” 

Asked how the ELBO would respond should abstention win again, Asis added that they still have to consult their legal adviser, Atty. Michael Daguinod should there still be a trend in abstention since it is a “grey area on the Omnibus Election Code.” 

Moreover, there is no absolute prediction of the election’s early results. However, in light of the previous events in the last elections, ELBO believes that the Bedan community still has enough time to get to know the candidates especially through the room-to-room campaign as well as the Miting de Avance (MDA). 

Asis also adds that it is also the candidates’ efforts in presenting their platforms and their “ideals to the Bedan community.” 

In this coming Second Special Election, ELBO will continue to promise “free, orderly, and honest elections.” 

Thus, they encourage the Bedan community, “make an informed decision and exercise your right to vote” just as the election theme states, “BeDa Voice.”