Updated: Pulse bail out of KSU elections

Student organisation Pulse has boycotted the KSU elections for the second year running – this time because the electoral system is not one of proportional representation.

Although the left-leaning organisation had announced its list of candidates, but its members did not turn up at the KSU annual general meeting at the university’s Sir Temi Zammit Hall.

As a result, the election will only be contested by the Studenti Demokristjani Maltin and Moviment Liberali, a coalition spearheaded by student-editor Mark Camilleri of ir-Realta' fame.

Pulse president Glenn Micallef told timesofmalta.com that SDM would not cooperate for a new system to be established.

"We're not saying the current system is not democratic, only that it could be made to be more so," Mr Micallef said.

Last year, the AGM had stalled as the agenda was not approved. Pulse, which has a strong following in the Junior College, had left the meeting in protest.

The AGM this year is being overseen by two police officers and four security guards. Most of the 333 students present, however, seem to be SDM supporters.

After the election, which had a turnout of only 15 per cent, incumbent KSU president Carl Grech had said the council was prepared to hold talks with students on the university electoral system.

Pulse had said this was a clear indication that the current first-past-the-post system was not being democratically effective enough as it was limiting student participation and representation.