UCD Impeachment Referendum Is Now Actually Going To Happen In October
A referendum to impeach UCD Student Union President Katie Ascough was handed in on Monday having received 1200 signatures.
This comes after an earlier petition was rejected due to an issue with the physical signatures on the ballots.
A statement on the Facebook page 'Impeach UCDSU President - Vote Yes' read:
We were obviously somewhat disheartened by the rejection of our first petition however, ultimately this facilitated more people engaging with our campaign, and confirms that the Returning Officer is firmly committed to the democratic process!
We once again hit the necessary number to initiate a referendum on our first day of collecting signatures, and today reached more signatures than the UCDSU President received votes! This supports our belief that there is a strong mandate to impeach the SU President as UCD students feel deeply betrayed by her actions.
Thank you to everyone involved in the campaign so far, and to everyone who chose to sign!
The University Observer says that Ascough will take annual leave during the run up to the referendum. Campaigns and Communications Officer Barry Murphy who is Vice-President will be acting President during this time.
In order for the impeachment campaign to win the referendum, a minimum of 10% of the registered union members must vote, which equates to between 2,000 and 3,000 students, and the majority must be in favour of the motion.
If fewer than 10% of union members vote, the impeachment campaign will lose the referendum.
Ascough responded to the news on the UCD Students' Union Facebook Page:
The petition was started by students after Ascough removed details on abortion prices/information from the freshers magazine 'Winging It'.
H/T: University Observer