Cambridge elects a new SU Women’s Officer (provisional)

Heidi Chen has been provisionally elected as the new SU Women’s Officer, taking over from Milo Eyre-Morgan.

Chen was the only candidate standing. Students also had the option of voting RON (re-open nominations).

Voting RON would indicate that students were unhappy voting for any of the available candidates. If RON had received a majority of votes, another election would have been held with the opportunity for new candidates to run. Chen was elected with 60% of the vote (109 votes), whilst RON received 72 votes.

The turnout was far lower than last year’s annual elections, where a total of 1,805 votes were cast for Women’s Officer.

All students who self-identify as women, or for whom woman forms part of their gender identity, were eligible to vote or run.

The by-election was called following the resignation of the previous Women’s Officer, Milo Eyre-Morgan, who stepped down in January. Chen’s term will therefore cover the remainder of the 2021/2022 academic year, finishing in mid-July.

As Women’s Officer, she will be responsible for leadership of the SU Women’s Campaign and will act as a representative of students for whom ‘woman’ forms a part of their identity. 

Women’s Officer is a full-time sabbatical role with a salary of £21,800 a year. Chen will suspend her postgraduate studies at the Judge Business School to take on the role and resume her studies next year.

Chen’s election is provisional until the result has been confirmed by the Democracy Committee and the deadline for complaints has passed.

You can read Chen’s manifesto here.

Featured image credits: Sarah Swift