how Friday the 7th went

HOW FRIDAY THE 7^TH WENT.

So, we had our EHSAMU elections last Friday, and I must say, it was one of the most interesting experiences I have had in a while. That is the reason why I came up with the idea of writing about it so that maybe, next time, more people will take part in the process I’d advise anyone who wants a front row seat in seeing how elections and the vote counting process behind closed doors is done to apply for the post of agent to a contestant. It is an eye-opening experience, and worth every minute of the balloting.

 EHSAMU is the student body connecting Environmental Health Students to the alumni and sometimes, to the Administrative offices. I am an EVH student, so on Friday 7^th March; I went to exercise my powers as a student in helping choose new officials for the New Academic Year, 2014/2015 starting after the this semester.

Elections

The elections started a little past 10am and went on till 2pm. The students voted manually and via phone. The process went as thus: you gave your registration number, and they’d cross out your name on the list. Next, you’d proceed to the next stage to get the voting papers (more like slips) and then to the ballot boxes to cast your vote. After this, you were allowed to leave the vicinity and go encourage other people to vote.

This was my first time being an agent. It was a thrilling experience to say the least, especially when I spent the day learning a lot about people, and making some new friends. I also got proven wrong when I realized that some people who wore serious faces all the time actually had a sense of humor. Their names have kindly been withheld for security purposes.

The elections were free and fair, that’s what someone else would say, but all the agents know we were too busy heckling the voters so they’d choose whoever we were standing for. It resulted in a lot of threats of getting banished, or getting thrown out by the Electoral body. It might have been a little scary, but looking back at this experience, I think that was the most fun I had on my birthday.

Announcing the Winners

After every balloting process comes the counting. Whether it was by a show of hands, or by casting of votes, the winner is always the one with the most votes. Once the boxes get turned and the votes leave their temporary safety, there’s no turning back. This is when we all start to get nervous. We shut our eyes, hide our faces, or leave the room if the door hasn’t been bolted yet.

I found myself in that position when they’d finished the process. Due to our small number, we were done with voting in hours. The process of counting begun and the contestants all had their nervous moment. Even I got butterflies when they did the counting! I can safely say that the votes were all counted correctly, and it was uneventful.

Out of all the five posts, the third year class secured three while the second years got the remaining two. I have to admit, it was a very tight race for all the contestants got some decent number of votes.

End of the Day

After a little dancing, and maybe singing, the contestants all went round congratulating each other for giving each other a run for their money. Meanwhile this lady was dancing in her seat in anticipation of her birthday presents. Too bad no one sang me a Happy Birthday song. Oh well, there’s still next year. However, at that time, Austin won’t be there to share the special day with.

I was pleased with the turnout this year, and I’m happy that we managed to get ourselves out of our “Its Friday” mood and came out to vote. Anyone who votes should be proud of themselves for deciding to help make a change by doing something about it instead of sitting on their laurels and howling about how bad the leadership is running their organization.

 I’m especially proud of all those who took a risk and put their ideas out there by declaring their interest in the seats they wanted. It takes courage and faith to go against the flow and ignore the things people tell you to do something as big as that. I salute anyone who has ever done a thing like this. And if you haven’t, well, there’s room to be different.

Friday was a significant day. Not only did I meet someone I share my birthday with, but I also spent the day in pleasant company. I also learnt a few things that I never would have picked up within the four walls of a lecture hall.

At Present

I’d like to thank the following people: Moraro and Austin for encouraging me to do this article, Gilbert Kilaho for being my walking dictionary and everyone else who wished the two birthday kids happy birthday. EHSAMU might be done with elections till next year but MUSO is the next big thing for us all. Meanwhile, we’ll all be rooting for our candidates when we are not studying for CATS and exams, right?

 EHSAMU stands for Environmental Health Students Association of Moi University.