Jas Randhawa is the next SFSS president

This morning, The Peak received the results for the 2018–19 Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) Board of Directors elections from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Without further ado, Jaskarn (Jas) Randhawa has been elected as the next SFSS president.

     This year there were two presidential candidates for the 2018–19 SFSS elections, Jas Randhawa and Amar Singh. Randhawa received 1,206 votes, while 952 votes were cast for Singh.

     “I couldn’t be more excited to be the next SFSS president . . . This was a very competitive and intense campaign process, and I want to take this chance to congratulate everyone who ran, regardless of the results. It takes a lot of courage to put your name forward and go through the stress of this campaign, and I hope we’ve all grown a little from it,” said Randhawa. “Right now, my mind is focused on the future . . . there are some really important things on the horizon for the student society, and I look forward to ensuring that the student body is well represented. I can’t wait to get in a room with our new team, meet everyone, and set a positive tone for the year ahead.”

     Moreover, it was a close race for the five other executive positions. Samer Rihani, who was elected as the next vice-president (VP) of student services saw a total 1,061 votes, while his opponent, Simran Sanghera, received 1,024 votes. In the end, it was Rihani who triumphed over Sanghera by a total of 37 votes.

     A similar pattern was seen for the vice-president of finance position. Matthew Chow, who was elected as the next VP finance, received 1,086 votes, while runner-up Vikramaditya Chandhok received 940 votes. Jasdeep Gill, who was elected as the new vice-president of external relations, triumphed over candidate, Livleen Sidhu, with a total of 1,125 votes to 930.  

     In addition, Jackson Freedman and Tawanda Masawi were elected as the new vice-president of university relations and vice-president of student life, respectively.

     The Peak reached out to Rihani to share his thoughts on the elections results, to which he replied, “Firstly, I MUST [sic] say a huge word of gratitude to Simran Sanghera. There is no one who made a better opposition for the role. She was kind, humble, and the entire time we ran against each other, it wasn’t a battle of jabs or insults, but rather a display of who could push hard and truly do the best to represent the role . . . It was a difficult campaign, and a gruelling one to say the least . . . but I’m so blessed to have been elected and want to tell the student body on behalf of the newly elected board that we are ecstatic to work alongside and for the students to create the most positive experience for any student and staff within SFU.”

     Freedman also commented to The Peak, “I’m absolutely thrilled with the victory and I’m so excited for the year ahead. I want to thank everyone for the support I received throughout the process . . . receiving a thousand votes from your fellow students is a really humbling experience. This was a hard-fought campaign, and I’m really proud of everyone who put their name forward to give it a shot and try and make a change here on campus.”

     The Peak reached out to the IEC, but did not receive a response by our print deadline regarding this year’s voter turnout. The Inspire SFU slate was the main winner for this year’s elections as 10 of its members were elected into the 2018–19 SFSS Board of Directors positions.