Election Tribunal Statement

Following the ruling of an Election Tribunal held at the end of Michaelmas term, Krishna Omkar, Candidate for President-Elect, was found guilty of breaching Rule 33, regarding Electoral Malpractice. Mr. Omkar was sentenced by the Election Tribunal, which disqualified him from that (and subsequent) elections.

The Oxford Union’s tribunal process conforms to the Society’s enshrined principles of openness, accountability, and transparency. Once an allegation has been brought, the case is heard by a panel of three ex-Committee members of at least six years’ standing, one of whom must be a qualified lawyer, in order to ensure that legal propriety and natural justice are upheld. All complaints are heard in the presence of the defendant and his representative, and must be found unanimously to be beyond all reasonable doubt for a conviction to be made.

A full report has been issued on the proceedings; Mr Omkar had 48 hours after the issuing of the report to bring an appeal and indeed did so. The appeal was heard by an Appellate Board, a new, but similarly-constituted panel. The Appellate Board upheld the rulings and sentencing of the original Election Tribunal. Factual inaccuracies in the press have led to the belief that the appeal is ongoing; please note that as stated above, the appeal process is over. Both Ms. Fischer and Mr. Omkar were duly represented throughout the process and neither party paid for that representation.

Ms. Fischer has since resigned from the Standing Committee of the Oxford Union, and has stated that she does not intend to stand in any further elections. She wrote a lengthy resignation letter which was made openly available to committee members. In this letter she refers to offensive text messages being sent to her, but has not brought any formal complaint of sexual harassment. It is to be expressly noted that Ms. Fischer has not alleged that Mr. Omkar or his supporters were responsible for the offensive messages.

There will be a re-poll for the Office of President-Elect at the end of 4th week of Hilary Term. We hope to see a fairly contested election and look forward to welcoming a new President-Elect to the committee. Rule changes have been suggested by Mr. Omkar and their approval or disapproval will be subject to the democratic rights of our members, and our existing rules.

The Oxford Union rejects any assertions of discrimination. It has a proud record of attracting committee members from all social, religious, and racial backgrounds, and does not discriminate on these, or any other, grounds. Its electoral rules are specifically designed to ensure that elections (and any subsequent tribunal proceedings) are not won or lost on grounds of wealth, gender, sexuality, race, religion, or any other extraneous factor - but entirely on merit and demonstrated competence within and dedication to this Society.

Emily Partington
Jesus College
President, Hilary Term