Deirdre Leahy has been elected welfare and equality officer tonight, in a close race which saw her receive 25.49% of first-preference votes.
Leahy, a final year occupational student, received 862 first preference votes – just three fewer than her opponent John Garvey – and was elected on the third count after votes from Garvey, Nina Crofts, Bhargavi Maghadi and reopen nominations (RON) were redistributed.
The second count put Leahy in the lead, with 125 transfers bringing her to 987, ahead of Garvey’s 948 (83 transfers) and Crofts’ 905 (95 transfers).
Leahy was victorious on the third count after Crofts’ elimination brought her to 1,372 against Garvey’s 1296, seeing her elected without reaching the threshold.
She is the first health science student to be elected to a sabbatical officer position since 2017.
Leahy, who hails from County Cork, ran a campaign centred around utilising her practical experience as an occupational therapist student, with her key manifesto aims being to improve accessibility on campus and digitising the College Health booking system.
