Leadership Elections By-Elections 2026

What are the Leadership Elections By-Elections and why should I care?

The Leadership Elections 2026 are an annual democratic exercise here at AUBSU in which all students choose who represents them for the next academic year. They took place in February/March this year but unfortunately we didn’t get any candidates for the Student Executive Officer position, hence why we are giving you another chance to be apart of this leadership team and take on this role!

Across the country student union elections exist to make sure that students have representation across the institution and on issues that matter to them. Student Union leaders are elected to advocate for students and ensure their voices are heard. Whether you are thinking of nominating yourself or you are just planning on voting – engaging in the elections is integral to ensure you have had your say in who represents you and your student experience.  

What is the timeline for the Leadership Elections By-Elections?

Nominations Open – Tuesday 29th September, 12pm

Nominations Close – Monday 19th October, 9am

We are also running engagement stalls/events for you to find our more information and ask us any questions!

Wednesday 7th October, 12pm – 2pm (Courtyard)

Wednesday 14th October, 2pm – 3pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/368588291227951?p=2MxKJidhmJjfgB1QUr

Candidate Briefing* – Tuesday 20th October, 12pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/367348154540642?p=RfkXenYW1IjWTz3U0y

Manifesto & Campaign workshop – Wednesday 21st October, 1pm – 2pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/36701538619802?p=lJ6KvWyMu3ibRxjISi

Manifesto and Video deadline – Friday 23rd October, 9am

Voting Opens/Campaigning Begins – Monday 26th October, 9am

Voting Closes/Campaigning Ends and the Expenditure Deadline – Thursday 29th October, 12pm

Results – Friday 30th October, 12pm

*Please note all candidates must attend candidate briefing to be approved as a candidate in the elections. 

The Process

Nominations open on Tuesday 29th September at 12pm and are open until the 19th of October at 9am. During this time any registered student can nominate themselves for any of the positions within these elections. Below we have also outlined the process of submitting a nomination and will be running engagement stalls/events throughout the period for you to ask any questions when making your nomination.

After nominations close, you can prepare your campaign. We will have the mandatory candidate briefing as well as a manifesto and campaign workshop and we will ask candidates to submit their 30 second Instagram stories, Q&A responses and manifesto changes.  

From the 26th October at 9am, campaigning begins and candidates will be revealed on our website as well as their manifestos. Campaigning then takes place from this time to Thursday 29th October at 12pm. Campaigning can look completely different for each candidate some may want to be on campus everyday whilst others may wish to do a lot more online – it’s up to you.  Voting also opens on the 26th at 9am, where all registered students are able to vote for who they want to join Achilles and Lily as our Presidents to be our AUBSU leaders. You can either vote through the link sent to your university email, from clicking on our website Voting closes at the same time as campaigning on Thursday at 12pm and results will be released the next day online, Friday 30th October at 12pm.

What roles are available?

Student Executive Officers x 4 

Along with the Sabbatical Officers, the Student Executive Officers make up the Executive Committee which meet monthly. The Student Executive Officers don’t have portfolios (not mandated to a particular area) are part time and are voluntary. Their job is to campaign for the issues that matter to students and to ensure their voices are represented and their feedback is heard. Every day is different and you will get involved in various ways. This could look like being involved in planning, jumping on social media, attending meetings (such as the student assembly) or running your own campaign. This role can be truly shaped to be what you want it to be and here at AUBSU we will work with you to help you navigate balancing your studies with your leadership role. 

*We will provide training and support, your term of office will be from when elected until 9th July 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I nominate myself?

When nominations go live you can nominate yourself through the email sent to you by our election’s provider – Choice Voting. We will also be sending you a reminder email during the nominations period. You can also click the link below.

Link here: https://nom.choicevoting.co.uk/election/nDYryEmZL6

To nominate yourself you need to submit the below information: 

Your name 
Student email 
Photo 
Up to 10 word slogan/intro 
Up to 500 word manifesto (you can make changes to this up until the deadline)

How do I vote? 

When voting opens you will be sent a link directly to your student email and you can also click the link on our website page that will be listed here. Here at Arts University Bournemouth Students’ Union we use a system called STV (single transferable voting).  

What does STV mean? 

In a nutshell, you allocate your preferences to candidates including RON. RON stands for re open nominations and can also be ranked as part of your preferences. For each position you will see a list of names. You vote by putting your preferred candidate as your number one choice, then adding your second choice and so on. The votes are then counted in stages with the candidates polling the lowest votes eliminated at each stage. The votes for an eliminated candidate are then transferred and redistributed to their voters next preferences. So even if your first choice gets eliminated your vote still counts. This also means that the candidate in first place in the first stage is not guaranteed to win once votes have been redistributed in subsequent rounds. Once a candidate reaches the required number of votes (quota) they win. 

You can also choose to abstain from the election and not vote for each position.

What makes a good manifesto? 

Your manifesto can be tailored to you. Start by introducing yourself, highlighting what role you are running for and outline 3 – 5 key things you want to achieve if elected.  

Make sure to highlight any experience or skills you have that make you the best candidate. Make it engaging and try to set SMART goals. Make sure your promises are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound as well as reflective of the current student body. Do you want to run a campaign or an event? What do you think needs improving? It’s up to you. The best candidates are those who express who they are, what they stand for and why people should vote for them. Why not also come along to our engagement events or manifesto workshop for more help.  

Remember your manifesto cannot be more than 500 words and must be submitted before the deadline. Any changes submitted after the deadline won’t be actioned. In your manifesto you should not comment on individuals or employed staff.  

Election Events

Drop ins before nominations close

Wednesday 7th October, 12pm – 2pm (Courtyard)

Wednesday 14th October, 2pm – 3pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/368588291227951?p=2MxKJidhmJjfgB1QUr

After nominations close

Candidate Briefing – Tuesday 20th October, 12pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/367348154540642?p=RfkXenYW1IjWTz3U0y

Manifesto & Campaign workshop – Wednesday 21st October, 1pm – 2pm https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/36701538619802?p=lJ6KvWyMu3ibRxjISi

How do I get in touch? 

For questions about the election or technical issues, email studentsunion@aub.ac.uk or the Returning Officer cbaker@aub.ac.uk. 

Candidate Information 

Candidate expenditure & allowance 

Part time candidates can spend up to £15 but will not be reimbursed. Like full time candidates, part time candidates must also provide receipts. The deadline for these to be submitted is 12pm on Thursday 29th October 2026. Candidates must send an email to studentsunion@aub.ac.uk outlining their spend, the reason why and the attached receipts.

All receipts must include VAT. 

Even if you spend nothing on your campaign you still need to indicate this to AUBSU before the deadline.  

As outlined in the rules please ensure that any campaign material is accessible to all candidates (eg if you dad owns a t shirt printing factory you cannot use this as not all candidates have access and this could be seen as bias as you are able to provide better quality promotional materials than other students have access to).  

Printing allocation 

All candidates are entitled to 10 x A3 colour posters and 15 x A4 colour posters on behalf of the union. These must be emailed at least a working day before candidates want these available. Any other printing must be done out of the candidate’s allowance. Any additional printing must be indicated in a candidate’s expenditure based off AUBs printing costs. Eg if you print 20 A4 coloured posters that is £1 of your campaign spending gone. Please be mindful of sustainability and consider digital campaigning. 

Printing costs 
Colour: 
A4: 5p per page 
A3: 10p per page 

AUBSU Support 

During voting/campaigning week we have a few opportunities on offer to help promote your campaign. 

1 repost for each candidate (tag us in the one you want us to repost)

Q&A blog post (this will be going live on Monday 26th October and will be made up of questions submitted by students)

Role take over on our social media (30 second Instagram story)

All candidates are able to send a 30 second Instagram video before the deadline via wetransfer to AUBSU that they want used in their social media takeover. Candidates can have creative licence over these videos but should think about captioning, their name, role they are running for and a link to a campaign page or our website).

Candidate advice & reminders 

This is a fun positive opportunity so work with us to keep it this way

Be understanding and aware of other cultures and experiences.

Make sure you are always respectful, inclusive and your campaigning is accessible (particularly digitally).

If you want to campaign alongside someone else that’s okay but please be aware you both might not get in and your budget is your own you cannot share resources.

Make your campaign material eye catching, use visuals and logos.

Be aware that your material may be taken down by AUB staff or ruined by the weather and this is not in our control.

If using social media to campaign you can only create these accounts once campaigning has begun.

Talk to people, showcase your experience and skills, have strong original policies, be inventive but most importantly be yourself.

Candidate support 

Look after yourself during elections, although exciting it can be stressful and busy. Nourish yourself, stay hydrated. 
Take breaks 
Plan something nice for yourself
Connect with others 
Come along to our engagement events or book a meeting with Charlotte if you need extra support. 
AUB and AUBSU are here for you. Do use university services such as student services & report and support if you need to.

Rules and Regulations

Any activity or campaign material that is illegal, breaches university rules, policies or union byelaws, policies, constitution or GDPR is deemed to be in breach of the election rules.  
The university is still a place of work for students and staff alike during the election period. Candidates must not do anything to disrupt day to day operations of the university.  
Campaign material, including adhesives and activities must not cause damage to university property and must be removed by the end of campaigning.  
Campaigning is forbidden in learning spaces such as the library, quiet spaces and classrooms.  
Any candidates that are delivering campaigning that could result in health and safety implications must have an approved risk assessment from AUBSU. 
Candidates must not pressure or bribe students to vote nor whom they should vote for. This includes use of others mobile devices. They must not tamper with campaign material of other candidates. 
Candidates should seek permission from staff to campaign in class. Although staff can allow candidates to campaign in class, staff should not endorse particular candidates and should signpost to the election and the AUBSU website.  
Candidates must not use AI generated imagery. 
Clubs and societies must ensure that all candidates have access to their membership if desired. Those who hold elected union roles such as committee positions must not endorse candidates using those roles, nor are union affiliated pages allowed to endorse particular candidates. Groups & individuals are allowed to promote candidates as long as all candidates can be promoted if/when requested. 
Private group chats (non-academic groups) are allowed to be used as a method of promotion for candidates but if requested all candidates are entitled to access said group to promote their campaign.  
All campaign material, including university printing, must be accounted for and declared with suitable receipts to studentsunion@aub.ac.uk by the declared deadline. 
Any expenditure must be on activity or items that all candidates could reasonably have had the opportunity to buy or carry out.  
Physical campaigning or material cannot manifest before the beginning of campaigning outlined in the election’s timeline (this includes social media account creation and promotion). 
All candidates must attend candidate briefing in order to be allowed to participate in the election.  
Candidates must respect the decision of the Returning Officer/Deputy Returning Officer in matters of the election.

Any candidates found to be in breach of these rules will be at risk of the below sanctions.  

1 – Informal written warning: Email notification of complaint received or breach of rules, not recorded. Reminder of the rules issued.  

2 – Formal written warning: Email notification of complaint received or breach of rules, recorded on election record. Final chance before increase in sanctions. 

3 – Suspension of campaigning: Determined by DRO, communicated via email. Failure to do so will result in sanction 4. 

4 – Removal of candidacy.  

This will be determined by the Deputy Returning Officer and Returning Officer. 

Complaints 

If a student/candidate feels another candidate or their campaign team has breached one or more of the above rules they can submit a complaint. The deadline to submit complaints is Thursday 29th October at 5pm. Each complaint will be reviewed and investigated and then either approved or rejected. If approved a sanction will be applied to the candidate being complained about. In both cases the complainer will be informed of the outcome. 

When complaining students/candidates should aim to do this within 24hrs of the original issue. If the complainer is unhappy with the outcome they can appeal to the Returning Officer – Charlotte Baker, Students’ Union Manager.

The Deputy Returning Officer for the Leadership Elections 2026 is Cass de St.Croix, Student Voice Co-ordinator at AUBSU, Charlotte Baker is the Returning Officer as the Students’ Union Manager at AUBSU. Both are responsible for the conduct and delivery of the elections on the ground and are your first port of call. 

Please note any complaints submitted after the deadline will not be considered. There is also a risk that results may be delayed if not fully completed before results night. 