UADS DECIDES 2024

Rain, buds in tress and bushes, green grass, lots of birds, wilting of outdoor plants, animals hibernating, scorching weather – all signify the arrival of a new season, a transition from one to another. Today, it rained heavily, giving Ibadan locals and non-locals a break from the gruesome heat. The rain also held eerie symbolism, as it coincided with the crucial process, the voting exercise, of transitioning into the next UADS tenure. The online voting process commenced at 10am and concluded at 5pm, providing a seven-hour window for voters to cast their votes. 

The University Of Ibadan Association Of Dental Students (UADS) electoral commission began counting votes at 5:50 pm, later than the scheduled 5:30 pm start time. In attendance were the Electoral Chairperson, Mr Israel Fort, two electoral commission representatives, representatives of some aspirants, and a representative of Dentatics Press. All UADS voters cast their votes online, except for two voters who encountered issues with their accounts. The two voters who had forgotten their passwords were unable to access their accounts, and they could not retrieve their passwords either, as the password recovery option had been disabled for security reasons The electoral commission resolved this by conducting a physical voting process for the two voters, with two electoral commission representatives, Miss Abimbola Ojo and Mr. Albert Darlington verifying their identities.

Fifteen minutes into the counting process, a representative of a 2k24 senatorial candidate attempted to join, but Mr Fort prevented him from joining, ensuring the process remained uninterrupted. The counting resumed, with the Chairperson ensuring transparency by allowing everyone present to cross-check the digital results against the results documented.  

The Special Duties Officer post was the only executive position with two aspirants, and, like me, many UADS members were eagerly anticipating the outcome and wondering who would emerge victorious. Mr Adeyinka Omoleye Taiwo, emerged as the winner with 59 Yes votes and 3 No votes, defeating his opponent, Miss Iyama Esther, who secured 42 Yes votes and 0 No votes. The counting process had an interesting turn during the collation of senatorial results. For the 100 level class, Mr. Okolie Udoka Samuel and Miss Aduragbemi Olanrewaju emerged elected with the same number of votes ,16 Yes and 1 No. The electoral chairperson cited the UADS Constitution (Chapter 4, Article 13 B), which states that when two or more senators have the same number of votes, a vote will be cast amongst the elected senators to determine the class representative. The 100 level class representatives will decide who the class majority leader will be, with the method of voting left to their discretion. This brought the counting process to an end at 7:02pm.

 Congratulations to the elected executives and senators, we hope to see them work tirelessly to serve the interests of the Association of Dental Students, University of Ibadan, and make the dental community proud!

Victoria Bello