HISTORY DEPARTMENT HOLDS SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS

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HISTORY DEPARTMENT HOLDS SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS 


Theophilus Awotunde 
The Department of History at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ilè-Ifé, has held its supplementary election for the positions of President and Treasurer as necessitated by the department's Constitution. 

The supplementary election, which was initially scheduled for Monday, November 13, 2023, faced delays and eventually took place on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at the department's lobby. It aimed to elect a President and a Treasurer, essential positions that remained vacant since the previous session due to unresolved issues.

Elections into other positions of the department had been conducted before the long break which ushered in the new Academic Session. However, the position of President remained vacant due to back-and-forth between the candidates involved. The department commenced the new academic session with the much-awaited elections to fill the vacant positions in mind.


The presidency position remained contentious due to discrepancies in candidate eligibility criteria. Concerns were raised about the approval of the constitution being used to guide the conduct of the election. Apparently, a party was working with a copy of the department's Constitution, which had been reviewed a few years back but had yet to be approved by the department. The other party insisted on working with the current constitution as the new one (reviewed copy) awaits approval. The department's Head of Department (HOD) intervened, suggesting the scrapping of the presidency until all issues are resolved. 

Following the electoral committee's resolve as well as the decision of the department to shove the "yet to be approved" constitution aside, working with the current constitution, the election for vacant positions was set to take place. The election was scheduled to commence at 10 am but began slightly after 11 am, due to unforeseen delays on the path of the Electoral Committee. Despite efforts made by the Electoral Committee in making announcements, the turnout was really low, with only a total of about 110 students from the department taking part in the exercise. Some students were unable to vote due to discrepancies in the accreditation list or outstanding payments.



Expressing concern on the day of the election, a student of the department lamented the lack of enough competition, citing only two candidates for the President's position and a single candidate for the Treasurer role.

In her words, "There are not enough competitors, we have just two candidates running for the position of President and a single Candidate for the position of the treasurer. It's really crazy and very disorganized."

In an interview, Presidential candidate Edward Oyemade expressed satisfaction with the ongoing process, commending the Electoral Committee's efforts in maintaining timeliness, early material arrival, and voter accreditation. However, he proposed better security arrangements for subsequent elections.

Candidate Oreoluwa Adewale highlighted minor issues, mentioning cases where registered voters couldn't locate their names on the list. Despite some disruptions and confusion, those with valid receipts were allowed to vote.

The election eventually came to an end with candidates believed to be the choice of students of the department emerging. For the position of President, Edward Oyemade secured 64 votes, while Oreoluwa Adewale obtained a total of 37 votes, with 5 void votes. For the position of Treasurer, Pleasant Adekogbe, who contested unopposed, pulled a total of 97 votes with 9 void votes.

According to the Electoral Committee, the majority of votes came from Part 2 students, comprising about 80% of the total votes cast, followed by 11% from Part 3 and 9% from Part 4. 



It is noteworthy that the low turnout may indicate a need for better communication regarding voter eligibility and payment requirements.

The election successfully concluded, declaring Edward Oyemade, part 4 student of the department as the President and Pleasant Adekogbe, as the Treasurer. 

Recommendations for future elections made by the Electoral Committee include refining the accreditation process and ensuring clear communication to enhance voter participation.

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