Students Representative Council elections at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), is scheduled to take place on January 28. The decision follows the KNUST Interim SRC meeting with the Dean of Students, SRC Aspirants, Vice Dean to discuss the way forward of the SRC election.
Background
The KNUST SRC elections was postponed until further notice as a result of the closure of public universities due to the coronavirus outbreak last year, executives of the KNUST SRC signed an act which made provision for the institution of an Interim Students’ Representative Council (ISRC) until proper electioneering process took place to elect substantial leaders for the Council.
This became crucial after the SRC snubbed any form of elections (online or delegate).
The instrument gave power to the Interim Students Representative Council to organize ‘SRC and NUGS elections within the first fourteen days upon the commencement of the new academic year for continuing students’.
In all 13 persons are vying for various offices.
The portfolios include President, General-Secretary, Treasurer and Women’s Commissioner.
Although there is a gender imbalance with respect to those vying for the four available offices, ultimately the election will see two women elected for the office of General Secretary and Women’s Commissioner, with the men taking the position of President and Treasurer.
This is because all the eight men contesting in the election are either going for the Presidential office or the position of Treasurer with the five women in the race vying for either General Secretary or Women’s Commissioner.
Although none of the available offices is reserved for a particular gender, recent trends in KNUST elections see men taking over the President and Treasurer offices, and the women battling for General Secretary and Women’s Commissioner.
In the Presidential race, Samuel Sesah and Rexford Joseph Bonney have been considered as the leading candidates.
Last year, Samuel Sesah contested in the SRC Presidential race but lost to Adu-Baah Charles.
Whilst the gap in votes between Adu-Baah Charles and Samuel Sesah was over 7,000, he performed better than five other candidates in the election.
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