Candidate Hub

This page contains useful information and support for candidates running in the Leadership Elections.

Supporting you to be the best candidate you can be!

Below you will see some Frequently Asked Questions about the elections. You can also access training and support and other key information below.

“When do nominations open, and what’s required?”

Nominations open on Friday 5 January at 12pm (GMT), and you can nominate yourself by visiting this page. Nominations are open until Monday 22 January at 12pm (GMT).

You must submit a manifesto (a minimum of 5 bullet points long and related to the role you are running for) and photograph (a head and shoulders photo which is unfiltered/unedited) of yourself, by the nomination deadline. Without this, you will not be eligible for the election.

“How do I know if I’m eligible to run in the elections?”

Each position has certain eligibility criteria.

To be eligible for the part-time officer position, you must be able to fulfil a minimum of at least 6 months in post. The date of office starts on 17 June 2024, which means that you must have current student status until at least 17 December 2024, in order to be eligible to stand.

To be eligible for the full-time officer position, you must still have current student status at the end of the election period (8th February 2024). The duration of the role will take place from 17 June 2024, until 31 May 2025 - you must also have right to work status during this period.

To find out more about the full rules and guidance available for this election, please visit this page.

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility for the election, you can contact the elections team by emailing: elections.su@coventry.ac.uk

"What is a slate and can I run as part of one?"

A slate is when a group of up to 4 candidates choose to openly support each other, and run as a team in an election. For example, you could have a slate which is made up of four candidates, who each want to fill a full-time officer position.

Slates are allowed as part of the election, however each slate team member will need to declare this when submitting your nomination to be a candidate.

"Do I have to be a final year undergraduate student to stand?

All students who meet the eligibility criteria are able to stand. This means that you don’t necessarily have to be an undergraduate student- or in your final year of study!

“When do the roles start and end?”

All full-time and part-time officer positions will begin officially on 17 June 2024, and end on 31 May 2025.

"Is there any point in running if I don't think I will win?"

You might think that but there are no guarantees! We use a transferable vote system which means that voters can choose multiple candidates. Even if you’re not a voter’s first choice you might get their second or third preference and these can quite often decide the overall result.

Just being a candidate will also teach you valuable and recognisable skills in budgeting, leadership, communication, diversity and more. Every candidate will be eligible for digital badges and awards for their participation.

If you have any other questions relating to the election, please reach out to the team, who will be happy to help! Email them at: elections.su@coventry.ac.uk

Training

We are hosting three different types of training opportunities for students/candidates, as part of the election:

Elections Info Workshops – in this workshop we talk about the Students’ Union - what it is and what we do, what the elections are and the processes that will be followed, and what the different roles are
Manifesto Workshops - in this workshop, we will talk about what a manifesto is, why it is important and provide some guidance on how to write an effective manifesto, to support your campaign
Candidate Briefing Workshops – this is an important workshop, in which we will explain the rules of the election, and what to expect as a candidate. We recommend that all candidates choosing to run in the election attend this workshop

There are in-person and online workshops available. You can see all of the dates of our in-person workshops by searching ‘elections’ on our events page

Alternatively, you can access the content for the workshops online via our Thinkific platform.

Support

Throughout the election process, you can reach out to our elections team for any support that you may require - this could be anything from support with your manifesto, to ask a question about the candidate campaign amount, advice about submitting a complaint, a wellbeing check in or anything else elections related!

The elections inbox will be monitored between 9-5pm, Monday-Friday - elections.su@coventry.ac.uk

Knowing the rules

All candidates are required to agree to the rules, upon nominating themselves for the election. These rules, and guidance, are available throughout the election for you to read or revisit.

Campaigning

Campaigning for your position cannot start until eligibility checks have been conducted, and all candidate names have been released, these will be shared by Monday 29 January at 12pm (GMT). Please note that we have created some guidance around campaigning, which we recommend that all candidates read.

Whilst elections are competitive, it’s important to ensure that each candidate has a fair and equitable chance of winning- if any candidates are found to have broken the rules around campaigning for the election, they could be penalised and this could ultimately result in them forfeiting their position in the election.

Campaign Budget

All eligible candidates can utilise the campaign budget amount set by the Students’ Union.

All candidates will receive an equal share of a pot of £1000, with a maximum of £10 per candidate. The exact amount each candidate can use will be shared with all eligible candidates via email, once eligibility checks have been conducted.

Please note that you cannot spend more than this amount. If you wish to utilise this fund, you will need to keep a list of all items used, their associated costs, and receipts for all items. You will be required to buy the items yourself, and you will then be reimbursed for the costs. Without receipts, you will not be able to claim back for any money spent. You will have 24 hours after voting has closed, to submit your claim - more information about this will be shared closer to the time.

Endorsements

Sport and Society clubs are eligible to endorse candidates. These clubs must prove that a democratic vote took place with their members (either their committee, or full society members), in order to decide which candidate/s to endorse.

Candidate names will be released on Monday 29 January at 12pm - endorsements can then take place from this date onwards, until voting has finished for the election.

Please note that the details of endorsements will not be shared centrally by the Students’ Union- it will be the responsibility of Sport and Society club members to promote this themselves, as appropriate.

Voting

Voting will take place over a 48 hour period- opening on Tuesday 6 February at 12pm (GMT, and running until Thursday 8 February at 12pm (GMT).

Students will be able to vote via two different mediums:

In-person voting booths will be held across the elections period on all sites. The details of these will be shared closer to the time.
Students can also vote on their own devices, by visiting the elections page on the SU website