KSU is extremely disappointed that in today’s event of #AskJM, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat stated that during his time as a University student, he did not see the use of voting in the KSU elections, claiming that this is due to the electoral system in place.
First and foremost, KSU respectfully points out that the way in which KSU is elected is not up to the government or any other entity but rather up to the University student body. According to the KSU Statute, the Annual General Meeting, being the highest organ of KSU, is able to enact any statutory changes by a two-thirds majority. The last AGM, open to all University and Junior College students, was held just a couple of weeks ago, and no student raised the issue during such a meeting.
Secondly, KSU also notes that although the turnout of such elections is not as high as the percentages in nationwide elections, this does not invalidate the mandate of those elected, or make it any less relevant. All individuals elected to KSU work hard in order to represent students to the best of their abilities. It is also to be noted that the Social Policy Commissioner and the Education Commissioner elected within the KSU executive board are elected independently of the normal KSU elections, and candidates are chosen by a pool of student representatives and student organisations from within their respective Commissions.
The current KSU board would also like to point out that it has been attempting to set up a meeting with the Prime Minister himself to discuss issues which directly and indirectly relate to students since the beginning of its term. During such term, 2 meetings were set, both being duly cancelled by the Prime Minister’s Office a few days before, with no re-scheduled appointment given. It is truly disappointing to see that other student organisations, such as Pulse and SDM have had the opportunity to meet up with the Hon. Joseph Muscat, and yet the University Students’ Council, was not given the same chance.
KSU reiterates that it has always maintained its neutrality and has in fact worked hard hand in hand with other Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries including Hon. Evarist Bartolo, Hon. Chris Agius and Hon. Chris Fearne. KSU’s agenda is not dictated by any political party, as implied by the Prime Minister. Its autonomy and neutrality is crucial in order to ensure that the students’ best interests are always respected.
KSU is the oldest Student Council in Europe and a relevant Council which has in recent years lobbied successfully for the implementation of certain measures within University. These include, most recently, the introduction of the 5 minutes reading time, which was also adopted by MATSEC following KSU’s proposal, a car pooling initiative meant to alleviate parking problems on campus- seeing that the multi-storey car park promised by the government prior to the election has not yet materialised, and the introduction of gender neutral bathrooms, which was recently applauded by Hon. Helena Dalli.