On the morning of Feb. 28, UFV’s Student Union Society (SUS) released their annual election report via a public zoom conference. Unopposed candidate Bilal Faisal Faheem was elected as SUS President with 614 ballots, or 76 per cent of the vote, while also receiving 192 spoiled ballots and 184 abstentions.
Additionally, Taj Sharma was elected Vice President Internal (VPI) with 46 per cent of the vote, Gurpreet Singh was elected Vice President External (VPE) with 58 per cent of the vote, and Eeman Kaur was elected Vice President Students (VPS) with 48 per cent of the vote.
The 2025 election saw a slight decrease of voters, with a total of 990 votes compared to 2024’s 1100 votes. There were also 15 complaints filed over the election, nine of which involved campaigning violations.
Eight Student Representatives At-Large were elected, making the sum number of candidates for this year 15, as two applicants were not accepted as candidates due to not meeting the eligibility of the election rules.
2024’s election results had five more candidates for a sum of 20 after two removals; the highest total number of candidates in the last five years, including three candidates each for the VP internal and external positions.
In 2024, the UFV Abbotsford Question and Answer Session brought in a commendable 70-90 people, the biggest turnout of any event during the election cycle. This year, the date of the Question and Answer Session was scheduled during reading break on Feb. 20 and had a “low turnout.”
SUS recommended that future rules, policies, and by-laws include that a student must attend, at minimum, one full semester at UFV before being eligible to run in the election. SUS also suggested that bylaws be put in place pertaining to who can speak to the Electoral Officer (EO) about the election during the nomination and review period.
Communication with the EO was addressed again within the general recommendations, noting that they are not required to be available 24/7. The hours worked by the EO in 2023 were between two to eight hours a week. During the 2025 election, EO Claire Cook often worked 12 hour days, sometimes 29 hours in a row.
Another recommendation written by Cook is that the organization should eventually consider externally hiring additional EOs in “several years time,” stemming from the desire to protect permanent staff members from a “paralyzing” work environment after the election’s conclusion.
“This should be explored so that the current Electoral Officer … doesn’t have to endlessly endure the inevitable condescending, patronizing disrespect and intimidation that naturally accompanies the position.”
Other general recommendations included the creation of a feedback form for candidates, having more informed infographics in collaboration with the SUS marketing department, and to have more clarity with regard to campaigning and the election process.
Based on the feedback gathered during this year’s election, the report also suggested exploring the logistics of The Cascade being more involved in future elections.
Current SUS President, Jayden Hovey, explained that due to the increased demand for reporting on this year’s election process, coverage might be expanded from solely that of the impartial SUS marketing team, as per current policy.
“Discussions on how that can change will likely belong to the new executive team once they take office in May, and will be at the discretion of the SUS Board of Directors.”
