THEOLOGY MAJOR, David Henry, is the new president of the Guild of Students, Mona Campus, University of the West Indies (UWI).
He polled five votes more than his closest rival, Nadeen Spence, a recount late Friday night determined.
Henry clinched the top post of the Guild Council with 265 votes to 260 by Miss Spence, a Master's student in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Preliminary counts on Thursday had both candidates tied at 254 votes. Outgoing vice-president, Ricardo James, recorded 242 votes, while Deanall Barnes polled 180 in their bids to lead the student organisation, which has been at the centre of financial controversy in recent weeks.
Richard Holness will be the new man in charge of the Guild's financial affairs in 2001/2002 after securing a 19-vote margin of victory, while Michael Jordan is the new Culture and Entertainment Affairs chairperson. He won by five votes, over Garth Williams.
Meanwhile, a petition of more than 250 signatures is to be presented to Mona Campus officials today, urging them to declare last week's elections null and void. Second-year student, Georgia Crawford, who spearheaded the petition, said elections should not have been held until several outstanding matters were cleared up.
"There are currently two lawsuits facing the Guild and these should be sorted out first," she told The Gleaner. "The Guild has yet to give proper account of its finances to the student population, so elections should not have been held at this time."
She added that it was senseless to elect a new Guild without first completing a process of constitutional reform.
Miss Crawford, who staged a one-woman protest outside one of the polling stations on Thursday, said additional signatures would be collected and forwarded to the campus administration during the course of the week.
She told The Gleaner that vice-president-elect, Annicia Gayle, and presidential candidate, Nadeen Spence, expressed support for the petition on polling day, before the outcome of elections was announced, with Miss Spence signing.
