Stolen Speakers and Vandalised Posters: VUWSA’s Complaint-Ridden Election

By Darcy Lawrey (he/him)

VUWSA’s election last month saw a massive jump in candidates. It was the first time more than one person ran for President since Tamatha Paul, now the MP for Wellington Central, won in 2018. It wasn’t just a two-horse race either; five candidates contested the role. The increase in competition saw a corresponding surge in complaints about the conduct of candidates. 

Matt Tucker, VUWSA CEO, says 17 complaints were made. The last time any substantial complaints were made about candidates in VUWSA’s election was also in 2018. He says roughly half of the complaints this year were made by current members of the VUWSA exec. 

VUWSA’s election rules try to prevent any unfair advantage incumbent candidates might get through their public roles. Restrictions are placed on what incumbent candidates can do during the two-week election period, including a ban on appearing in VUWSA’s social media, or in Salient. Tucker says the rules are “quite open, and [are] about transparency and fairness.” The Returning Officer, who is responsible for the election results, has some discretion in how they are applied. 

Complaints against two candidates were upheld, both of whom were incumbent candidates. One was made against Presidential candidate Josh Robinson for using a VUWSA sound system to throw a campaign flat party. The other was against Welfare Vice-President candidate, Aspen Jackman, for an unapproved appearance in a Salient article, once the election period had started. 

Jackman, this year’s Equity Officer, was re-elected as VUWSA’s Welfare Vice President for 2026. Her vote total was reduced by 2% for her appearance in a Salient article, titled: Women in the Arts. While she thinks it’s fair to make a complaint, she’s “upset” that her votes were reduced “partially because it detracts from the writing in Salient.” She was not aware that she required clearance to appear in the article.

She believes some rules need changing, particularly when it comes to posters. VUWSA prints off 100 posters each for all candidates, but she says some candidates put up “hundreds” of posters. University staff had also made complaints to Tucker about the sheer number of posters plastered across the campuses.

Other behaviour which drew complaints included: a candidate displaying their campaign poster on the information display in The Hub; a candidate handing out cake as a “bribe” for votes, and; concerns that candidates were spending over the spending cap of $100.

It is too soon to say if this year's historic VUWSA election will also end in the House of Representatives; we can say that democracy is back, and it’s scrappy.