Birmingham students could sue over election result
A group of students at Birmingham University are threatening to take legal action following the annulment of election results in October. The "Birmingham 14" are the Muslim students who won all 14 of the Guild's places at the NUS annual conference.
However, as we exclusively reported last year, allegations of improper electoral conduct were made. These included ballot fraud and voter intimidation, as well as campaigning in contravention of the Guild's strict anti-slate rules, which state that candidates are not allowed to stand as groups and therefore cannot back each other.
In this case, it is claimed that Muslim students were sent an email telling them who to vote for.
The students deny any wrongdoing and have launched a campaign to be reinstated, with the backing of FOSIS, the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, and The 1990 Trust, a black human rights organisation. The Trust made accusations of racism in all but name, and is calling on other students to email the Guild in protest.
Pav Akhtar, NUS Black Students Officer, is also supporting the campaign, claiming that the students have been discriminated against.
The students' solicitors have been instructed to begin legal proceedings if the annulment is not overturned within a fortnight, but the Guild's rules do not allow the students to appeal against the decision.
The Birmingham University Guild of Students has denied any suggestion of racism or discrimination. It said that the election will be re-run on 23rd February - later than expected - and all students will be able to stand.
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