Polling day approaches for the 2025 Students' Union executive elections, with most full-time officer races now uncontested.
Shane Lynch, a candidate for Welfare Officer in the UCD Students’ Union executive elections has withdrawn from the race. This leaves Emilia O’Hagan as the sole remaining candidate.
Lynch had not yet shared a manifesto for his campaign, nor shared any insight into his plans on his campaign’s instagram account, so his candidacy was largely unclear.
On his reasons for withdrawing from the race, Lynch stated to the University Observer “I haven't given the campaign the attention it deserves up until this point, and given the circumstances, it seems fair on my part to withdraw my candidacy from the race. I wish Emilia all the best in her bid to become Welfare Officer of UCDSU.” The UCDSU returning officer Eoin Heffernan has accepted Lynch’s withdrawal.
Lynch’s withdrawal leaves the role of President as the only full-time officer race with multiple candidates contesting, with Tia Cullen, Saskia McCormack-Eiffe, and Michael Roche all vying for the top position in the SU.
The races for Welfare Officer, Campaigns and Engagement Officer, ENTs Officer, Graduate Officer, and Education Officer now all have one candidate each.
The first official day of campaigning for candidates will kick off on Monday 24 March with the ‘poster race’, though most candidates have already made their presence known through their campaign Instagram accounts.
The poster race will see all candidates gather together for the first time in the student centre atrium, before splitting off in a race to grab the best spots on campus to pin their posters, and reach as many students as possible through canvassing with their campaign teams.
Hustings will take place for college officers throughout the week, with a timetable yet to be announced by the returning officer, and the week will culminate with hustings for full-time Sabbatical Officers, the part-time Irish Language Officer, and the 'Yes to USI' and 'No to USI' campaign teams taking place on Thursday 27 March at 5:30pm in the student centre atrium. Hustings will see all candidates make their case for students’ votes and are open to all students to attend, with opportunities to direct questions at candidates.
Voting for the executive elections and the USI referendum will take place in person in the UCD Student Centre and Smurfit Campus and online via the Mi Voice platform on April 1, 2, 3. Results will be announced on Friday 4 April.