Krishna Omkar (right) stood against Charlotte Fischer (left) in Michaelmas Term 2007
Photo: Eddie Gallacher
Krishna Omkar has raised over 150 signatures petitioning for a poll that could radically alter the Oxford Union’s election rules.
The poll of all Union members will go ahead on Monday. The motion, if it is passed, will mean that a re-poll will happen automatically if any candidate gets disqualified from Union elections. The verdicts of election tribunals, which currently decide if the re-poll goes ahead, will also be open to debate and possible to reverse in the House.
Union President Ben Tansey called Omkar’s move “surprising” given that a packed House in the Union last Thursday voted against similar proposals by a large margin.
“The poll was an interesting decision,” Tansey said, “200 people… decided [the motion] wasn’t a good idea.” He refused to comment on whether he supported Omkar, but denied that the issue would overshadow his term as President, saying, “People are bored of Union politics.”
The motion was originally brought by Remi Drouin, and supported by Omkar.
The motion comes after Omkar was banned last Michaelmas Term from ever running for Union president again, when a tribunal found him guilty of electoral malpractice. Since then he has attempted to change the Union rules so that tribunals can no longer impose lifetime bans as punishment, however his attempts last term were delayed, then blocked completely.
Omkar has argued that the ban constitutes unfair treatment, and that he was only following standard Union practice.
“The rules as they stand encourage duplicitous hacking. The vote on Monday is about discussing election tribunals. Standing Committee delayed the vote because they wanted to change the regulations to allow open hacking in the poll.”
He expressed upset that an emergency Standing Committee meeting had been called the previous Monday despite the organisers allegedly knowing Omkar would not be able to attend.
“I’m not angry, just disappointed that they delayed the vote. It’s not a personal thing, it’s the principle. I’ve been vilified…I didn’t cheat, I didn’t do anything that [other people] didn’t do.”
Union rules forbid candidates from soliciting votes from anyone other than close personal friends. However, candidates sometimes form ‘slates,’ in which several candidates with similar views support each other’s election.
One former Committee member, who preferred to remain anonymous, condemned Omkar’s attempt to have the rules changed, calling the move “deeply regrettable”, adding that the Union is, “fundamentally not an appreciation society for prominent people.”
Both sides, Omkar for the motion and Luke Tryl against, will be circulating publicity on the motion over the weekend.
