Libby Martin, former County Vice President and LUDans President, was elected Vice President (Events and Democracy) after one round of voting.
Martin received 1077 votes, defeating ex-LUSU Elections Cross Campus Officer, Emily Blanchard, who gained 798 votes, and Parth Gautam, who received 153 votes. Re-Open Nominations gained 108 votes.
Speaking to SCAN after her election, Martin said she felt “absolutely incredible” to have been elected. She expressed her surprise at winning in the first round of voting, explaining that she “thought it was going to be a lot closer and go through several rounds of voting.”
Martin praised her future colleague, Liz Ashworth, who she described as having been “her rock” for the election fortnight, along with County JCR Executive President Levina Masterson, and her friend, Jen Sims.
This year’s election saw a record turnout with over 3000 students voting. There was also an increase in the number of female candidates, as well as international and postgraduate students. Furthermore, there was over a 30% increase in the number of students who voted in Graduate College, in comparison to last year’s election.
Martin acknowledged the success of this year’s election and explained how Olly Trumble (Vice President Events and Democracy) had already began the handover process. She joked that he had already approached her saying “We’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Trumble told SCAN he was “looking forward to working with Libby to ensure she gets a good start in the role in July.”
He also praised “all the candidates who did a fantastic job. They all worked hard and this was what made the contest so exciting.”
Summarising, he said “a very big well done to Libby on being elected Vice President (Events and Democracy).
