Candidates express dissatisfaction in low voter turnout 

The polls have closed and the students have spoken. 

Tanveer Singh, a second-year construction engineering technology student, has won the race for the international student representative position on the board of the Student Association of George Brown College (SA). 

The unofficial results were released shortly after noon on Monday, Dec. 10. 

Singh won with 74.5 per cent of the vote with a total of 327 votes, while Seth, a first-year international business management student, secured 112 votes.

Singh said that winning the election is “a new experience for me. I’m really happy and thanks to all who supported me in the election and voted for me.” 

He added that him and Seth both share the same vision for international students, including the idea of a study club, to help them ease these students into GBC, get homework help, and assistance finding jobs. 

He ended by saying, “thank you so much for giving me this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to working for the students and the SA.”

Also newly elected to the SA’s board is Senthil Thevar who was the only candidate contesting for preparatory and liberal studies education centre representative. 

Thevar received nine yes votes and two no votes. 

The First Nations, Métis and Inuit students’ representative votes went to Jeffrey Hewitt who was also the only candidate in that race. 

He received 131 yes votes and 48 no votes. 

The positions of satellite campuses director and hospitality and culinary arts representative remain vacant, having received no nominations. 

A total of 585 students voted in the SA’s fall byelection, which is 2.8 per cent of  20,987 eligible voters. 

Thevar expressed his appreciation, moments after learning the results. 

While he was happy to have secured the position, calling it “a great, nice experience,” he would like to see more participation from students.

The newly elected preparatory and liberal studies representative said that one of his plans for office is to take feedback from the students regarding their issues and work with them from there. 

As for Seth, he wished Singh “the best of luck.”

“Anything he has in mind, he should take forward with his full effort,” he said. 

Seth said he would run for the same position again. 

Seth too is disappointed with the number of votes. 

“I think a lot of people are not even aware that college (SA) elections take place,” he said. 

Requests for comments from Hewitt were not returned by press time.