ASSOC’s newly elected president and vice president-external, Chua And Salak, face the challenge of vacancies in the executive board

Board by Andrea Indanan

By Janna Alessandra Lagman

On Tuesday, May 28, 2024, the Asian Studies Elections Committee commenced with the official proclamation of the winning candidates from the Asian Studies Societal Elections A.Y. 2023-2024, which was held at the TARC Auditorium. 

After reconducting the online elections last May 27, 2024, two of the three candidates secured ASSOC Executive Board positions, with Lara Chua claiming the position of President and Manuel Salak for Vice President-External, both garnering 116 votes. 

However, Timothy Asturias, the sole candidate for the position of Treasurer, failed to secure the number of votes needed, as 90 abstained, outweighing 87 votes from the student body. 

With this, for the upcoming academic year 2024-2025, five positions are left vacant in the Executive Board of the Asian Studies Society, including the Vice President-Internal, Secretary, Treasurer, Auditor, and Public Relations Officer (PRO). 

When asked about the vacancies and their plans on how to handle the situation, Salak, the newly proclaimed Vice President-External, emphasized the importance of meeting, discussing ideas or proposals, and delegating tasks with the incoming President, Lara Chua, to maximize the limited manpower they have. 

Meanwhile, Chua explained that having vacancies in the Executive Board was already anticipated, and assured the student body that their platforms would continue despite the setback. 

The second election had a voter turnout of one hundred eighty (180), equivalent to eighty-two point ninety-five percent (82.95)%, more than two-thirds of the voting population of two hundred seventeen (217). The voter turnout is higher compared to the recorded one hundred and thirty-five (135) votes last election, which were less than two-thirds of the voting population.