The Judicial Board is expected to render a decision on the issue of electing a new president for the Concordia Student Union, where an impasse is preventing council from moving forward.
Following the unexpected resignation of Schubert Laforest in early February, councillors and executive remain divided over who is best to lead the organization for the last months of the mandate. In a contentious council meeting on Feb. 13, the executive’s recommendation of VP internal Nadine Atallah to fill the empty position fell flat with the councillors.
Not a single councillor voted for Atallah, who the executive felt was best for president. A compromise was not reached as both sides adamantly refused to reconsider their choices — including Atallah who did not want to rescind her candidacy.
Councillors Gonzo Nieto and James Vaccaro filed a complaint to the JB, where the three members will rule Wednesday on the issue of presidency and provide clarity on the CSU’s bylaw 7.4.
Bylaw 7.4 states that should there be a vacancy in the presidency, council shall appoint a president from the vice-presidents; should no vice-presidents be willing then a councillor may be appointed with two-thirds majority of votes.
However, the bylaw does not state what to do if only one vice-president is willing but council does not agree.
To end the complaint, Nieto wrote that he hoped the JB could remedy the situation and provide clarity on the bylaw.
“It is our belief that this situation should be handled the same way as if there were no vice-presidents willing to fill the vacancy of the presidency — namely, that a member of the council of representatives would be appointed to fill the vacancy of the presidency, as per bylaw 7.4,” the complaint read.
Vaccaro said that he hopes the issue will be resolved quickly so that the CSU can move forward.
“I’m hoping the JB can clarify the bylaw because as written, it is unclear and does not state how we should proceed if the only willing executive is not appointed by the council,” said Vaccaro. “I would be happy to see another executive state they are willing as I’m sure their team dynamic would be best with a leader they’ve been working with throughout the year.”
Conversely, Atallah hopes that other than volunteering herself for the position of presidency, she hopes that JB will offer different interpretations of the bylaw.
With files from Robin Della Corte.
