Only 18 students have forwarded to occupy posts for the University Student Council (USC), according to the University Student Electoral Board’s (USEB) first official list of candidates, marking the lowest number of candidates at least since the Collegian’s records began in 2000.
Coupled with an all-time low voter turnout in last year’s USC regular and special elections, the dwindling number of USC candidates follows a decreasing trend in campus political participation even before the pandemic hit.
The low number of candidates for this year’s elections persisted despite the USEB moving the deadline to file for candidacy from April 25 to May 10 to “provide students with ample time to fulfill their academic and conduct eligibility requirements.”
Two incumbent USC councilors, Erwin Ace Medina from the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy (CSSP) and Charles Justin Shi from the College of Science, are running unopposed for chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively.
Meanwhile, 12 are vying for councilor positions, with only Jael Gonzales from CSSP running under UP Alyansa ng mga Mag-aaral para sa Panlipunang Katwiran at Kaunlaran.
No other candidate is representing a party, as Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights in UP, the only other active party last year before it withdrew, announced earlier this month that it will not be participating in this year’s polls.
In addition to those running for the standard bearer and councilor positions, four are running unopposed for college representatives from the National College of Public Administration and Governance, College of Law, CSSP, and College of Mass Communication.
The threat of an “abstain” win, however, remains. To win, a candidate must still get higher votes than the “abstain” option.
Campaigns are slated to run from Thursday until after the Miting de Avance on May 29. The student council elections will be held from May 30 to 31.
The USEB will accept protests against the candidates’ eligibility until Wednesday noon, after which, the final list of candidates will be announced. ●
