In a historic first since its restoration in 1980, the UP Diliman University Student Council’s university-wide seats will remain vacant after an overwhelming triumph of the abstain vote.
Though the standard bearer candidates were unopposed, this did not mean a sure win as abstention thwarted their bids. Independent chairperson candidate Erwin Medina lost to the abstain vote, 4,668 against 3,010. Independent vice-chairperson candidate Charles Justin Shi, meanwhile, received 3,019 votes against 4,659 abstention.
All 12 councilor seats will also remain vacant as abstention took the first place. Independent Aika Vergara, whose bid was met with 2,324 votes, almost topped the polls but folded against 2,890 abstentions.
Set this year at the historic steps of Palma Hall, the University Student Electoral Board (USEB) announced that no one of the candidates would be pronounced as winner. Spectators stared in disbelief as the scale of the abstain vote started to sink in.
This year’s general elections saw a 30.82 percent turnout. This figure is 5.88 points lower from last year’s regular USC elections, and 22.53 percent points higher from the October 2023 special elections.
With all fourteen posts left vacant, the USC remains in limbo. Only the six duly elected college representatives from the Colleges of Law, Mass Communication, Social Sciences and Philosophy, Business Administration, Social Work and Community Development, and the National College of Public Administration and Governance, so far, compose the incoming USC.
When abstention swept last year’s regular polls, the USEB announced that there was a pending call for special elections.
But this year is different. No pronouncements from the USEB were given, as of writing.
In a mobilization shortly after the announcement of results, student leaders vowed to reflect on the results, and continue the campaign against campus militarization and commercialization, among others.
In a tweet, UP Student Regent Iya Trinidad shared her disappointment over the results.
“Having no student representation amid worsening political, economic, and social crisis poses a serious danger to our rights and welfare,” she wrote. “Especially in UPD, where campus militarization, commercialization, and other attacks on our democratic rights [are] heightened.” ●
