19:57
A very good evening and a warm welcome to York Vision’s live blog for Election Night 2025! We’ll be covering the results as they’re announced at Hendrix Hall.
YSTV’s election night broadcast will start at 8:00, so get comfy, put the TV on – or come to Courtyard, as they’re showing it live – and keep Vision on your phone.
The turnout this year is 17,42 %, a good bit lower than last year’s heights of 26,54 %. We’ll give you the latest live on the ground at Hendrix Hall as the results come in, so watch this space!
20.04
I’ve just spoken to Activities Officer hopeful Kory Anderson. I ask him if he’s feeling lucky. “I’m hopeful. I’ll wait till the end and see how it plays out.”
Current Sports Officer Tanisha Jain, who isn’t running for re-election, said she was “feeling hopeful” about this year’s crop of candidates. “I’m excited but nervous!”
Freddy Newell praised the much lighter campaign, saying “the candidates have conducted themselves very professionally”. He said it “was not like last year”. Perhaps that may be down to many candidates running for re-election this year. The results, however, we shall have to wait and see.”
20.20
We’re getting underway now at Hendrix Hall. The broadcast is introduced with a satirical 60-second pitch series, in front of a comically poor green screen.
It’s always difficult to do ‘amateur’ broadcasts professionally. But they’ve made it work here.
It’s a running gag of election night broadcasts to do a cold open spoofing the whole campaign. YSTV haven’t disappointed here.
20.28
To recap, the elections are decided by STV. To recap, voters were able to rank the candidates in order. To win, the candidate who first reaches a quota of 100% divided by the number of candidates minus 1 will be elected. If no-one can reach it, one candidate is knocked out and their votes are transferred to the next candidate. So on, until one wins.
First up is the Academic Officer
20.31
Academic Officer
- Aya Haidar is elected after four rounds, going down to two candidates
“I don’t know what to say! I honestly just really want to make students’ lives better, in terms of academics.” she says to YSTV.
20.37
Activities Officer
- Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb is re-elected after three rounds, with 934 total votes, with 83 second and third choice votes.
“This has been the most stressful week of my life!” Asked by YSTV how she would celebrate, she quipped “… Drinking?! That was always going to be the plan whether we won or lost!”
Candidates and guests alike are feeling election fever at the election night party. Current Equality & diversion Officer Teddy Bland, speaking exclusively to York Vision, told me he was “having lots of fun at election night!”. He isn’t running for re-election, and his position is up next.
20.53
Equality and Inclusion
- Abi Harrison wins election as Equality and inclusion with a very close victory with 752 votes against Janus Arjula’s 687 votes – a result close enough to provoke gasps in the hall.
21.01
Community & Wellbeing Officer
- Sam Dickinson wins election. The hosts played this up, referencing a close result in 2024, but it wasn’t particularly close, when it became clear he had the lion’s share of votes. He ended up with 960 votes, just surpassing the threshold on the third round.
21.23
Sports Officer
- Darcy Graham is elected Sports Officer. It took a run-off to get her past the winning threshold, but given she had quite a strong lead throughout, it wasn’t in question.
I spoke to Union Affairs Officer candidate Sharon Álvarez Pérez in the break, who told me she was “very tense”. One candidate was very relaxed, enjoying the entertainment; the other was very tense. An interesting divide.
21.27
Union Development Officer
- A VERY close vote, this one. Anna Lindberg wins with 963 votes to Gen Andrews’ 922 votes after a run-off.
“My brain’s like mush now from the shock of it!” She was only in the lead on the first round by 9 votes, so it could well have flipped either way.
21.30
Union Affairs Officer
The big one this, the leader of the Student Union.
- Lewis Parrey wins re-election as Union Affairs Officer. It took a run-off against Simon Edwards, but from the third round onwards it was largely out of the question.
“I think I’ve just loved being able to work every day to try to make things better for students, so to try to continue that is just amazing.”
21.36
And that’s it from us!
It’s been an exciting night. To recap, here’s your new SU officers:
- Union Affairs Officer: Lewis Parrey (5 rounds, 837 votes)
- Union Development Officer: Anna Lindberg-Newby (2 rounds, 963 votes)
- Academic Officer: Aya Haidar (4 rounds)
- Activities Officer: Kaitlyn Beattie-Zarb (3 rounds, 934 votes)
- Community & Wellbeing Officer: Samuel Dickinson (4 rounds, 960 votes)
- Equality & Inclusion Officer: Abi Harrison (4 rounds, 752 votes)
- Sports Officer: Darcy Graham (4 rounds, 1 069 votes)
Thank you for staying up and sticking with our live coverage throughout the evening. The new Sabbatical Officers will take their posts soon.