Disagreement over Faculty Council seats fizzles out

Was ABU entitled to a seat on the Faculty Council of Law, Economics & Governance? The faculty’s electoral committee said yes, but a student council member said no. Unable to reach a consensus, they sought the advice of Utrecht University's Legal Affairs Department and the Central Electoral Committee. The latter ruled in the student's favour, while the electoral committee decided otherwise.

What was going on?

An unusual situation had arisen during the Faculty Council elections. Not a single student put themselves forward as a candidate for the Department of Economics, so the three vacant seats were allocated after the elections for the Departments of Law and Public Administration & Governance.

Residual seats
According to Bas Cornelissen, who was on the council representing the Lijst Vuur party last academic year, things went wrong when the vacant seats were allocated. Vacant seats are residual seats and, in his view, the electoral regulations stipulate that an electoral threshold must be applied. This means that a party must obtain a minimum number of votes to be eligible for the seat. ABU did not meet this electoral threshold.

According to Dajo de Prins, chair of the electoral committee, the vacant seats in the Economics district were a different kind of residual seat. Because no candidates stood in the Economics district, the electoral committee distributed the seats among the other districts. According to De Prins, a "separate arrangement" applies here, and "no electoral threshold applies to the distribution of seats".

De Prins believes this ensures “the most proportional representation possible” is achieved, whereby smaller parties are also given “the opportunity” to “represent students”.

Legal advice
In response to Cornelissen’s questions, the Electoral Commission sought advice from the Legal Affairs Department and the Central Electoral Office (CSb) regarding its decision. Legal Affairs and the CSb ruled in favour of the student member and advised the Electoral Commission to apply an electoral threshold to all remaining seats, including the vacant seats in the Economics district.

The Legal Affairs Department states, however, that the electoral regulations are “open to multiple interpretations” and that the Electoral Commission “decides autonomously on this point”.

The Electoral Commission is sticking to its initial decision on the grounds of “legal leeway”. However, it requests that the electoral regulations be clarified at the central level so that this cannot become a point of discussion in future elections.

Only candidate
Although the debate has resulted in stricter electoral regulations, ABU ultimately did not secure a seat on the council for this academic year. Eva van Jaarsveld completed her bachelor’s degree earlier than expected and is starting a master’s degree in Nijmegen. Students must be enrolled at Utrecht University to be eligible for councils.

Van Jaarsveld relinquished her seat right before the summer break. She was ABU’s only candidate for the Faculty Council, so Rups will take the vacant seat. This makes Rups the largest student party on the council, with four of ten student seats.