March 14 students take AUB elections
Late Friday, election results for the Student Representative Council at the American University of Beirut (AUB) showed a clear victory for the March 14-aligned forces, who won at least 48 seats, over 28 seats for students affiliated with the opposition. The remaining 14 seats are reported to have gone to independent candidates, with two seats (one in Nursing and one in Agricultural and Food Sciences) pending run-offs after reported ties.
March 14 has won the Olayan School of Business, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the Faculty of Health Sciences, while the opposition has won the Faculty of Engineering. The Faculty of Medicine (which includes the School of Nursing) was taken by independents, and the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences is currently at a draw, with March 14 and the opposition each officially winning four seats, and independents three.
However, several of the independents in the Faculty of Agriculture are reportedly aligned with March 14. Every year, in addition to the true independent candidates, many students choose to run officially as “independent” despite being allied with one of the various political factions. This can create confusion as parties attempt to determine the final tally.
Currently, opposition supporters are also claiming victory in the Faculty of Medicine. However, a founding member of the Medical School’s “independence movement,” newly-reelected Med-3 representative Emile Mehanna, confirmed to NOW Lebanon that of the Faculty of Medicine’s nine seats, six went to independents, two went to the opposition, and one went to March 14. He also stressed that he and his colleagues are, in fact, genuinely independent. According to Mehanna, Medicine operates differently from much of the rest of the university: Ever since he and his classmates decided to make their representation focus on academics, rather than politics, incoming classes have followed the example. “We saw that we could make an impact by working for the faculty and forgetting about politics,” he explained.
Mehanna strenuously denied that the opposition had won control of the Faculty of Medicine. “If the opposition wants to claim it performed better than March 14, that”s true. But they did not win the faculty – the faculty went to the independents.” With the School of Nursing included (although they are elected separately, the two share a Council), the opposition still has one fewer representative than the independents. And even should the opposition win Monday morning’s run-off for the final Nursing seat, they could, at best, draw.
Speaking to NOW Lebanon, student sources aligned with the opposition conceded March 14’s victory, crediting it to a stronger and better-financed campaign, as well as a solid campus support base. “They were better prepared than we were,” admitted one pro-opposition student leader. However, he described the most interesting change in this year’s elections as the prominent, organized campaigns of true “independent” candidates.
He attributed the surge in independent candidates – and their impressive performance in the elections – to more than just good preparation: “This year, the independents are really independent – and people are sick of politics.”