At 25.45 percent, the turnout was just under 2 percent higher than last year. Whereas in recent years the distribution of seats was invariably six (UReka) and three (DAS), this year the new Student Party Twente shook things up. A debut with two seats is a fact, UT secretary Susanne Wichman announced on Friday afternoon in the Abscint drinks room.
Party leader Marius Busscher was 'very happy' with the result. 'We would therefore like to thank all voters. As a party, we wanted to break through the status quo. Apparently more people thought so. This is not the first and only time that people hear from us.'
Slightly higher turnout
UReka and DAS both had to make do with one seat less than ‘usual’. Nevertheless, both party leaders were not dissatisfied with the result. 'We are absolutely happy with five seats,' says Tjerk Zweers of UReka. 'It's nice to see that there is broad representation and a higher turnout. In addition, the arrival of a new party also puts us as existing parties on edge. Personally, we want to work on ensuring that the recognition of student activism – which found its way into the institutional plan – is actually implemented by the UT.'
The sentiment was similar with DAS party leader Luka van Houte. 'Of course it's a shame that we have one seat less. We would have preferred to take three or maybe four. But the fact that the turnout is higher is certainly a good sign. We are going to make it a good year in the council with the other parties.'
'Diversity in candidates'
Among the employees, one party was up for election, the well-known Campus Coalition. As a result, all nine seats went to the party of list leader Herbert Wormeester. 'Even though there was only one list, we as a party have tried to create enough diversity in candidates. As far as I'm concerned, we certainly succeeded,' says Wormeester.
At 32.49 percent, employee turnout was significantly lower than two years ago, which according to Wormeester can easily be explained by the tumultuous financial time the UT was in at the time. 'And we are not out of those turbulent times yet. Nevertheless, it is good to see that we can count on a higher turnout than is the case at many universities. That we can be a platform for many different voices, that's the least we can do.'
The election results of various faculty councils were also discussed in the drinks room. It was announced by representatives of the faculty boards and will also be published online.
