By Allianah Junnice Bolotaulo and Paul Ray Donaire | May 10, 2024
Fewer voters are to be anticipated in this year’s Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) Elections, according to Abe Cadeliña, Student Organizations and Activities Division Head.
“Perhaps it is a showing of a lack of interest in student politics. We can only assume,” he said.
The Students Union for Reforms Party skipped this year’s election, addressing their absence in a statement released on April 30 as a need to “regroup and reform.”
However, Cadeliña said it would’ve been better if other parties ran for the elections because “that’s what elections should be.”
“I just hope that our students still value student leadership, especially in our student government because this is a very very rich avenue for holistic student development,” he said.
Despite this, as the only registered party, the Concerted Actions for the Upliftment of Student Endeavors (CAUSE) Party campaigned in various departments across the campus last week.
With the elections scheduled on May 15, Cadeliña urged Sillimanians to exercise their right and “obligation” to vote.
“I will use the word obligation because if you complain about how your SUSG performed yet you haven’t participated in the election, then you actually have no right to do so,” he said.
During last year’s elections, 5,382 out of 10,203 students voted, a 14-percent increase from the 39-percent voter turnout garnered in 2022.
The election campaign ran from May 7 to May 11.
