By: Liam Cosgrove (3rd Year Politics and Sociology)

The longest election count in MSU history is finally coming to a conclusion (hopefully) this Friday the 18th of September. Maynooth students went to the polls back in March to elect their new Students Union representatives.

However the following day presented a count day like no other.

What happened?

Well, the short answer... COVID19 happened.
Thursday the 12th of March, count day, started off like any other, the returning officer and his team began sorting and counting votes the same way they would any other year. The standard order of the day was to start with the senate elections and then to continue into the evening with the SU officers, Vice Presidents and finally the big reveal... who would be the next MSU President.

But then a curveball was thrown at everyone. Mid-way throughout the day then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced from Washington DC that all educational institutions and colleges would be forced to close at 6pm that day due to the growing public health emergency. It immediately became clear to everyone that there was no way the returning officer team could get through all of the Senate elections and then onto the officers before 6pm.

Panic began to fill the room as the repercussions of this were realised. We could be left with no SU officers... even more importantly no President! This was a major crisis, the SU could be left with no Chief Executive Officer for the new academic year. Students and candidates alike begged the returning officer to abandon the initial plan and to instead start counting the full time sabbatical roles first. Luckily they were completed in time alongside a few senate positions.

The remaining officers and some senate positions were announced a week later having been conducted with a small team and physical distancing. So we have our new Executive Team!

So what now?

Not all of the Senate positions were elected however and so we have been waiting since then to find out who the lucky contenders are. This of course has caused a lot of frustration and confusion among candidates who are still waiting in suspense to find out whether or not they have snapped up one of the top jobs. One candidate I spoke to noted:

“It certainly has been frustrating. With everything up in the air, it has been difficult, touching on impossible, to prepare for this year’s term as a Student Senator effectively.” (2020 MSU Senate Candidate)

But finally the wait is over! We will know on Friday the 18th of September who will make up the ‘governing body’ of Maynooth Students Union.

The Details:
When: The count starts at 9am on Friday the 18th of September.
Where: ‘The Venue’ MSU Student Centre - There will be no in person observers due to public health guidelines but there will be a live stream by MSU on the MSU Elections page and by ourselves over at @LEADIreland. Candidates will also be able to communicate with the Returning Officer and the Director of Democratic Affairs through Microsoft Teams.