January 29, 2018

KINGSTON, ON – Today, AMS President Jennifer Li made the following statement:

“As announced on January 28 through the Elections Team, Natasha Kornak withdrew her candidacy for Vice-President (University Affairs). Per the AMS Constitution Section 2.2.2, the candidates for President and Vice-Presidents shall run as a team and with this withdrawal there was no longer a team on the ballot. The AMS Secretary requested an interpretation of the Constitution and Elections and Referenda Policy to determine the next steps for the Society.

The Judicial Committee has interpreted the Constitution and policy to make the following rulings:

The President has the authority to call a Special Assembly, with 48 hours’ notice (S.5.5.2 of the Constitution), to appoint a new Executive. I therefore call t his Special Assembly to be held on Thursday, February 1 at 7:30pm in Wallace Hall.

There shall be an open call for nominations to all AMS members, and interested teams of candidates will be asked to send their full names and student numbers to the AMS Secretary by Thursday, February 1 at 6pm. The Secretary will validate that the candidates are an AMS member and are eligible as defined in the Constitution. All interested and eligible candidates will then be invited to stand before Assembly.

The Secretary will validate that the candidates are an AMS member and are eligible as defined in the Constitution. All interested and eligible candidates will then be invited to stand before Assembly. Assembly shall seek to appoint a qualified team to the Executive. If the outcome of the vote for Executive team is negative or if there is an absence of a qualified Executive team, Assembly may appoint qualified persons to each of the Executive positions.

Assembly also has the right to defer judgement to a new election period which must abide by a condensed timeline as defined by the Judicial Committee.

I strongly urge Assembly to appoint a qualified team immediately. The AMS operates with very tight hiring and transition timelines. A new election will not just create more uncertainty for the students who want to work or volunteer with the AMS next year, it will also affect our ability to conduct a thorough transition for all staff positions.

This is a formal notice of a Special Assembly to be called on Thursday, February 1 at 7:30pm in Wallace Hall. If you are interested in running, please send your full name and student number to Neil Sengupta at secretariat@ams.queensu.ca by Thursday, February 1 at 6pm.

All members of the current Executive are available to answer any questions that interested candidates may have. I encourage all students to engage meaningfully in this process and with the candidates at the Special Assembly.”

All questions can be addressed to Neil Sengupta, AMS Secretary, at secretariat@ams.queensu.ca

BACKGROUNDER

Alma Mater Society (AMS) – https://www.myams.org

The central undergraduate student government at Queen’s University, the AMS represents over 17,000 students and is the oldest student government in Canada. It has over 1,000 student volunteers and 700 paid staff.