CRO to hit Sleiman with another ruling, Sleiman to file complaint against CRO

The clash mounted Wednesday between the Students’ Union’s chief returning officer and the embattled election candidate she ousted, with both parties intending to file formal complaints against the other.

CRO Jessica Nguyen said she will issue a second ruling against Samer Sleiman Thursday morning with new allegations that she was barred from presenting at Sleiman’s appeal hearing Monday.

“The election can’t end on this note, knowing the evidence that I have and the students that have come forth since,” Nguyen told The Gateway.

Nguyen would not confirm whether her ruling will disqualify Sleiman.

The Discipline, Interpretation and Enforcement (DIE) Board overturned Nguyen’s original ruling Wednesday morning after citing a lack of evidence over Sleiman’s intent to tamper a student’s vote.

Sleiman said he’ll be filing an official complaint against Nguyen by Thursday morning after receiving “numerous complaints” alleging she asked students how they voted.

“This is a blatant attack on the notion of secret voting,” Sleiman wrote in his first statement since the allegations.

“It shows a deep disregard for the impartial judicial process instituted by the SU and flies in the face of democracy.”

Sleiman said he was “delighted” by the DIE Board’s ruling and called on students for an election “free of an abuse of power.”

The CRO’s ruling stemmed from first-year student Anna Gwozdz, who complained that a vote had been falsely cast under her name after Sleiman offered to show her how to vote on a cell phone.

Gwozdz gave Sleiman her CCID, password and student identification number, but claimed she never saw her ballot.

Nguyen said she respected the board’s decision, despite surging backlash from students who have the called the election results into question.

“Students can trust the Students’ Union because the elections office won’t release the results until they’re confident that the people elected are representative of what the voters want,” she said.

The results for the Vice-President (Operations and Finance) race remain sealed, despite the DIE Board ordering Nguyen to release them on Wednesday.

Nguyen said she is only required to announce the results within 24 hours of the last appeal, which her new ruling will squash.

Sleiman will have 12 hours to appeal his new ruling, which the DIE Board must hear by Friday.

Opposing VP (Operations and Finance) candidate Cody Bondarchuk said the initial allegations left him stunned.

“It’s the equivalent of someone standing over your shoulder while you’re at a polling station,” he said. “I think it’s very hard to unintentionally tamper with votes.”

Bondarchuk acknowledged the ensuing controversy has overshadowed his campaign, but he’s chosen to remain quiet and stay in the race.

“I just want this to be over. I’m looking forward to the conclusion, whichever way it falls.”