Leo Buckley has been elected Union President for Trinity Term 2023, narrowly edging-out opponent Julia Maranhao-Wong by three votes. The election saw a significantly higher voter turnout in recent memory but came with more uncontested positions for the second term in a row.
The two candidates for the presidency ran significantly different campaigns. Maranhao-Wong, as part of her #Challenge slate, ran a campaign of “under-promising and over-performing”, previously telling Cherwell that she was “the only candidate that actually fulfilled any pledges made at Trinity”. Buckley, on the other hand, was an independent candidate emphasising professional experience in various areas and roles.
After his victory, he told Cherwell: “I’m humbled by the trust the members have placed in me to steer the Oxford Union, and am grateful for this opportunity to lead an institution I adore. I look forward to serving the members in Trinity Term 2024.”
Louis Wilson, Izzy Horrocks-Taylor, and Chris Collins won their uncontested elections for Librarian, Treasurer, and Secretary respectively, running as part of the #Challenge slate. All officer positions also received on average 236 RON votes, with a total of 709 such votes cast.
The following candidates for Standing Committee positions were elected: Mikeel Toosy, Lyle Hopkins, Aryan Dhanwani, Peter Chen, Amy Gilbride, and Robert McGlone. James MacKenzie, Saharsh Anand, Hamza Hussain, Shreya Bothra, Rachel Haddad, Anya Trofimova, Jenny Wright, Ashling Aisulu Sugrue, Yassin Hachi, Siddhant Nagrath, and Olivia Knight-Catalinete have been elected to Secretary’s committee.
This term’s election saw 987 votes cast, a notable increase from the 590 cast last term, with turnout dwindling in previous elections.
