Ali Faruk leads SGA presidential race

Student government elections for the Monroe Park Campus concluded March 9, but official results have yet to be released. It could take a few days or even weeks before they are made public, said Nusrat Chowdhury, director of the elections committee for the Student Government Association.

Following the most attended SGA debate in recent memory, voter turnout increased 30 percent from last year’s elections with 2,956 votes cast, she said.

According to unofficial results, presidential candidate Ali Faruk, a fourth-year sociology major who has served SGA since his freshman year, leads the race with a total of 1,273 votes. Bruce Vann, a third-year business management major who joined SGA during his sophomore year, trails Faruk with a total of 1,077 votes. Tyler Bass, a second-year English major, received the least amount of votes with 540.

The official results won’t be released until the judicial branch completes reviewing complaints filed against the candidates. Chowdhury said judicial briefs were filed against Faruk and Bass, but couldn’t specify details of the cases.

In the senatorial race, 31 candidates ran for 25 seats in the Senate. Still, Chowdhury said she expects all candidates to earn a spot in office once current senators resign at the end of this semester.

Election winners are expected to be sworn into office before the end of the semester.

Faruk’s running mates are Megan Shandleson as the candidate for vice president and Kaitlin Bowles, candidate for executive director of University Relations.