The votes for the next Rector of the University of Aberdeen have been cast, choosing Iona Fyfe as their winning candidate over Camilo Torres Barragán. The Scottish folk singer earned 295 of the 568 votes cast, landing her a win by 51.94%.
She will take the role over from Martina Chukwuma-Ezike, who has acted as the university’s rector since January 2022. Iona’s term as rector will begin January 1st, 2025.
In her comments after the election’s results Fyfe stated:
“I’m honoured that students have put their faith in me to take on the historical role as Rector. It’s a profound privilege to represent students in my home region”.
Before the election, /The Gaudie/ attended the final debate between the two candidates, hosted by The University of Aberdeen’s Debater inside Union Brew. Both candidates stuck strongly to their manifestos, delivering an interesting discussion to help voters in their decision.
Her opposition, Camilo, won 261 votes. His campaign heavily involved his experiences as an international student, and his close connection with students after previously acting as VP for Communities.
Both candidates acknowledged the typical low voter turnout in student elections. The pair commented on the potential ‘disillusionment’ that students may feel towards political systems. Both Iona and Camilo expressed their desires to change this feeling by making students more aware of elections and the benefits they could create for voters.
The debate’s final question asked both candidates what issue they would address first. Fyfe stated that her goal would be to extend guaranteed university accommodation past first year for working class and international students, and that this would be an issue that she would work towards solving within the first month of the role.
After the election’s result, Iona addressed the infamous low voter turnout that has affected the university’s recent elections:
“I was acutely aware of the historically low turnout of voting in rectoral elections. I was keen to be present on campus engaging in conversations about what a rector does for and on behalf of students.
I’m delighted that voter turn-out has increased and hope this is the first step in being a present, accountable and reliable rector for all students.”
This year’s rector election had a higher turnout than previous student elections, however it was still a low figure. 568 out of 14000 students cast their vote, which represents about 4.06% of the student body.
Student President Christina Schmid commented on the results:
“Thank you to both candidates for taking part in a very interesting exchange of ideas during the election. Both are exceptional leaders who have demonstrated a strong voice to address student issues.
We are happy that in Iona we have a Rector who will advocate for students and work together with the Students’ Union to represent students at all levels.”
