Students at the University of Malta have elected Nick Muscat, who ran as an independent candidate, as the new President of the University’s Student Council (KSU), making
him the first independent president within KSU since the 1990s.
He will lead a KSU executive comprised of five SDM representatives and three other independent candidates who ran alongside him.
University students held their annual KSU elections on Wednesday in what proved to be a neck-and-neck race that ended with a mixed University student body.
With this result, Muscat will lead a UM Student Council, featuring an SDM majority.
Independent candidate Nick Muscat was elected as KSU President with 1,346 votes, narrowly beating out SDM’s candidate for the lead role, law student Michael Spiteri, who received 1,279 votes.
Muscat was interviewed by this newsroom just prior to his election on Wednesday, in which he described his campaign as “massively intimidating.”
Muscat and his team of independent candidates ran against the established organisation Studenti Demokristjani Maltin (SDM), who have virtually led every KSU Council, barring not more than a handful individual independent candidates elected to the executive in some of the past several years.
Historically, when it comes to KSU, SDM candidates have often run unopposed, resulting in them getting automatically elected.
This year marked the first time that KSU elections witnessed a fully contested race since 2018, when student organisation Pulse listed a full set of candidates against SDM’s team.
Commenting on the result, newly elected KSU President Nick Muscat said: “Today is a big moment for students because they made their voice heard. I am immensely proud of my team for taking this step and for believing in a different kind of student representation.”
“We made history, even though not all of our candidates were elected. We now look forward to working with everyone, together with all members of the newly elected executive, in the best interests of the students we represent,” Muscat said.
Muscat had said that his electoral campaign of independent candidates served as an effort to restore democratic competition and accountability at the central tertiary institution.
Alongside Muscat, SDM’s candidates for Vice Presidents and Secretary General were elected by students at the University of Malta on Wednesday.
Keith Calleja will serve as KSU’s Vice President for Internal Affairs, Sam Delia was voted in as Vice President for External Affairs, and Ella Micallef Darmenia was elected as KSU’s Secretary General.
SDM also had their candidates for Media and Design Officer and Culture and Entertainment Officer elected through students Lisa Fenech Pace and Gaby Diacono respectively.
KSU’s next Finance Officer will be Angelie Feroleto, who ran beside Muscat as an independent candidate as well.
The other two students voted in through Muscat’s independent ballot were Matthias Zahra as Student and International Affairs Officer and Francesca Anastasi as Culture and Entertainment Coordinator. Anastasi was elected by a gap of just three votes over her SDM counterpart David Grima.
From the nine contested roles, six of the roles garnered gaps of less than 100 votes between the two respective candidates.
The positions for both Vice President for Internal Affairs, Vice President for External Affairs, and Secretary General garnered vote differences of 287 votes, 101 votes, and 169 votes respectively.
As of 4pm, one hour before voting closed, the KSU Electoral Commission said that the official turnout had amounted to 2,732 students, 24% of UM students.
These KSU elections were organised digitally. The full results are as follows:
President:
Nick Muscat (independent candidate) – 1,346 votes.
Michael Spiteri (SDM) – 1,279 votes.
Vice President for Internal Affairs:
Keith Calleja (SDM) – 1,422 votes.
Jesmiel Raines (independent candidate) – 1,135 votes.
Vice President for External Affairs:
Sam Delia (SDM) – 1,285 votes.
Gianluca Xuereb (independent candidate) – 1,184 votes.
Secretary General:
Ella Micallef Darmenia (SDM) – 1,334 votes.
Moesha Debattista (independent candidate) – 1,165 votes.
Finance Officer:
Angelie Feroleto (independent candidate) – 1,309 votes.
Maria Attard (SDM) – 1,227 votes.
Media and Design Officer:
Lisa Fenech Pace (SDM) – 1,329 votes.
Ruth Sciberras (independent candidate) – 1,284 votes.
Student and International Affairs Officer:
Matthias Zahra (independent candidate) – 1,290 votes.
Thomas Barthet (SDM) – 1,227 votes.
Culture and Entertainment Officer:
Gaby Diacono (SDM) – 1,286 votes.
Maya Debono (independent candidate) – 1,225 votes.
Culture and Entertainment Coordinator:
Francesca Anastasi (independent candidate) – 1,262 votes.
David Grima (SDM) – 1,259 votes.
