Students' Union Elections
What happens after a student election if some of the seats remain empty? The UASU's Bylaws and Regulation contain a process called a vacancy petition.
The rules for vacancy petitions can be found in Regulation 110.06: Students' Council and GFC Replenishment. If you have any questions or need to make alternative arrangements that comply with Regulation 110.06, please contact the Chief Returning Officer at cro@su.ualberta.ca
As of March 22, 2024, Students' Council vacancy petitions are being accepted for Education (1), Native Studies (1), KSR (1), Law (1), Medicine and Dentistry (1), Open Studies (1), and Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (1).
As of March 22, 2024, General Faculties Council vacancy petitions are being accepted for ALES (1), Arts (2), Business (2), Education (4), Engineering (4), Campus Saint-Jean (1), Native Studies (1), KSR (1), Law (1), Medicine and Dentistry (1), Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (1), and Science (4).
FORMS
The Chief Returning Officer's vacancy petition form is found here. To complete the form, you will need to read Regulation 110.06 and provide:
- A filled and signed Eligibility Letter
- A statement about why you want to seek this position (around 500 words)
- A list of at least 10 signatures from students in your faculty (see form for essential details)
TIMELINE
As detailed in Regulation 110.06, vacancy petitions can be filed at almost any point between elections. For the 2024/25 academic year, this means that vacancy petitions to fill Council and/or GFC vacancies until the Fall by-election can technically be filed anytime up to September 27, 2024. However, since the by-elections take place in early October, filing a vacancy petition so late might make someone a Councilor for a matter of days, if at all. It is strongly recommended to file vacancy petitions as early as possible over the summer.
After the by-election, if there are any student vacancies on Council or GFC, vacancy petitions will be accepted from October 4, 2024. Again, anyone interested in filling these vacancies should file as soon as possible to ensure they can have meaningful time in office, should they succeed. Vacancy petitions will reopen after the elections.
In extremely simplified terms, as an overview of the year, vacancy petitions can be filed from March through late September, and from early October through January.
ACTIVE VACANCY PETITIONS
According to Regulation 110.06 section 03, receiving a vacancy petition triggers a seven-day window for other petitions for seats in the same faculty and governance body. The regulation has a process for how to handle multiple petitions for the same seat if received during that window. This web page will track any active vacancy petitions and the associated deadlines.
| ACTIVE VACANCY PETITION | FACULTY | GOVERNANCE BODY | DATE RECEIVED BY CRO | WINDOW ENDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
Phone
780-492-4241
Students' Union Elections Office
Room 0-68 B
Students' Union Building
University of Alberta
8900 - 114 Street NW
Edmonton, AB
T6G 2J7
