Once again, DAS and UReka have submitted candidate lists for the upcoming elections, which will take place in the week of 15 June. This year, they will be joined by a third list, running under the banner of Student Party Twente. The party consists of fifteen students. Its lead candidate is Marius Busscher, a second-year bachelor’s student of Applied Mathematics and Applied Physics.
What prompted the launch of a new party? ‘Change,’ Busscher explains. ‘A lot is going well at UT, but I have the feeling that students are not always being heard. On top of that, we have effectively had a two-party system for years now, with the same seat distribution every time – and a low turnout at elections. We want to break through that status quo of a certain established order.’
Since 2021, the seat distribution in the university council elections has remained unchanged: six seats for UReka and three for DAS. That was also the last year in which another party stood for election, in the form of the student entrepreneurs’ party uTOP.
Taking a firm stance
For now, Student Party Twente is cautious about setting concrete seat ambitions. Busscher hopes at the very least to double the turnout of recent years – and to offer students a broader choice when it comes to representation in university governance. The party does not target a specific constituency. ‘In fact, when I started, I didn’t even know the number two on our list,’ Busscher says. ‘We will soon be presenting a ten-point plan, which will certainly include some striking proposals. ‘We want to be judged on our ideas and proposals, since we don’t have a predefined constituency.’
If the party wins enough seats to enter the university council, Student Party Twente aims to represent a different voice. ‘Sometimes it’s good to take a firm stance. Within the participation system, you have the right of initiative, and we intend to make full use of that,’ Busscher says.
Election week
Elections for staff will also take place again in June. Here, the status quo remains unchanged: only the current party Campus Coalition submitted a list to the central electoral committee.
In addition, elections for decentralised participation bodies will be held in the week of 15 June. At the faculties of ET and TNW, elections will take place for students; at BMS, for staff. At EEMCS, both students and staff can vote. ITC does not take part, as its election cycle differs from the central UT election week, which has been in place since 2023. There are also no elections for service councils.
The election week runs from Monday 15 June to Friday 19 June. The election results will be announced on Friday afternoon.
