Three candidates in the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) sabbatical officer elections were sanctioned by the Electoral Commission today.
Education Officer candidate, Niamh McCay, Ents Officer candidate, Luke Rynne Cullen, and University Times Editor candidate, Donal MacNamee all received minor strikes. McCay and Rynne Cullen’s campaign Facebook pages will be offline tonight from 8pm to 10pm as a result.
Responding to Trinity News, Education Officer candidate Niamh McCay said: “I was issued a minor strike by the EC today for an issue surrounding Trinder posts, one that was written by the nurses that I had visited earlier that day in D’Olier Street. This post was heartwarming and it was lovely to read their support, but I now understand that this was on a public page and therefore could be considered sponsorship or endorsement. This breach didn’t cross my mind as I read the post and I never intended for it to place me at an advantage, I wasn’t even aware they had written it until it was posted! Thankfully the matter is cleared up now.”
In a statement to Trinity News, Rynne Cullen said: “So it was a minor misunderstanding, we are allowed to tag artists for my event next Tuesday in Wigwam, but they’re not allowed to co-host it. The reason we had them as co-hosts is so their Spotify music linked to their Facebook page is shown on the event to give people a chance to see the amazing line-up we have in store.”
Meanwhile, MacNamee said: “Some members of our campaign team had t-shirts on before the hustings last night. We met with Stephen [Sheil, Chair of the Electoral Commission] and the rest of the EC and they informed us of the strike. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Candidates in this year’s race have faced two hustings so far, the Dining Hall Hustings and Council Hustings, over the past two days. Candidates will next be questioned at the Media Hustings on Thursday evening. Voting will start on Monday evening in Halls, with results announced next Thursday night.
The Electoral Commission is the body that oversees and regulates SU elections.
