Candidates who stand in the upcoming Cardiff University Students’ Union elections will be subject to the Union’s new fit-to-stand policy for the first time. The policy states that the requirements ‘exist to protect students from the continuous or potential harm that could be caused by a candidate who is either under investigation or who has had complaints upheld against them in matters relating to harassment, assault, and sexual violence.’ This change in the Union’s policy came about after pressure from the local student campaign group, Time To Act.
The policy will require candidates to confirm that they are not under investigation by the university or police and that they have never had any complaints upheld against them regarding harassment, assault, or sexual violence. The policy also prohibits candidates who are under investigation for, or found guilty of bullying, hate crimes, or discrimination. The Union’s rules also state that any candidate who is found to have lied or misled the Students’ Union Election Team regarding the policy may be disqualified from the election or removed from their position, should they win.
The candidates running will still be held to the £20 allowance for campaign spending, meaning that they cannot spend more than £20 on campaign activity or resources. There are exemptions to this rule; spending on items such as costumes, clothing and consumables is not counted. The reasoning given for this is that candidates could reasonably be expected to own these items before their candidacy, and their primary function is not to be used for campaigning. The Union also states that ‘to promote sustainable methods of campaigning, candidates may not print their own printed materials.’ This has meant that for elections, the Union has been responsible for printing campaign materials, with all campaigns receiving the same amount of posters. Candidates found to be in breach of these rules may be sanctioned by the Returning Officer or Deputy Returning Officer and possibly removed from the election. Nominations for the 2026 Leadership Elections are currently open and are set to close at 18:00 on Monday, 16 February. Once the list of eligible candidates is confirmed, the official campaigning period will begin. Students will then be able to cast their votes online from 10:00 on Monday, 9 March, until 18:00 on Thursday, 12 March, with the final results announced on Friday, 13 March.
The impact of the new fit-to-stand policy remains to be seen, particularly as it may act primarily as a formalisation of a standard that was previously implied. This raises the question of whether the student body will feel these measures go far enough to ensure safety on campus, or if reforms beyond codification of standards will be sought in future election cycles.