No student council elections will be held at the University of Malta for the second year running. Photo: Chris Sant FournierNo student council elections will be held at the University of Malta for the second year running as one of the two main political groups pulled out of the race amidst ongoing disagreements over the electoral system.
Elections for the University Students Council (KSU) have traditionally been heated affairs contested by rival organisations Pulse and the Maltese Christian Democrat Students (SDM), informally affiliated with the Labour and Nationalist parties respectively, with only sporadic ‘third party’ efforts.
Pulse announced this week they would be skipping the elections for the second successive year, clearing the field for their rivals to again form a council without elections.
SDM have dominated the elections for the last decade and Pulse lost the last one they contested by around 1,000 votes, a substantial margin in the context of a voter turnout which rarely exceeds 30 per cent.
Pulse said this week it wanted to avoid becoming an “electoral machine”, according to a report by student news website Insite, preferring to focus on its own “restoration period” and initiatives to support students directly.
The organisation has consistently protested in recent years against the current first-past-the-post electoral system, which grants each KSU position to whoever obtains the majority of votes with no representation for minority candidates. Pulse have instead called for a proportional representation system similar to that used in national elections but discussions on possible reform have never taken off.
The first-past-the-post system is also used at Junior College, where Pulse have historically enjoyed far greater support, leading some to accuse the group of inconsistency.
Insite reporter and former chief executive Matthew Charles Zammit told this newspaper the feeling among interested students was that Pulse’s absence from the elections was contributing to rapidly-diminishing interest in the council as a democratic institution on campus.
Pulse have called for a proportional representation system similar to that used in national elections
“The lack of Pulse as a strong ‘opposition party’, as well as the low number of people voting, mean the elections just aren’t a major event anymore,” he said. “SDM have become the natural KSU group while Pulse focus on making their mark through campaigns and other means.”
According to Mr Zammit, a third-year law student, KSU retained its importance among other student organisations but for less active students the general view is that the council has little impact on daily life on campus. Efforts to obtain a comment from Pulse president Ayrton Mifsud were unsuccessful.
SDM president Gabriel Micallef acknowledged that the lack of elections could contribute to growing apathy on campus but said his group would work to involve as many student organisations in its efforts.
“We are disappointed that students will not have the chance to choose between two teams and two visions but, at the end of the day, the prevailing situation isn’t of our making,” he said.
“We maintain that the electoral system in place is perfectly tailored for the University. We have taken part in meetings organised by Pulse but discussions have stopped there. The ball’s in their court,” Mr Micallef said.