A rundown of LeadMCR election results night

The results of the 2024 LeadMCR elections were revealed in Academy 2 on March 7, with eight Exec Officers elected for the 2024/25 term by the student body.

The results night was hosted by students from Manchester Media Group but kicked off with a speech from departing Activities and Culture Officer Robbie Beale. Beale said that “this kind of event is what makes our union tick” and that elections week is “the most important time in the SU calendar.”

The LeadMCR Alternative Awards were announced first, aiming to “celebrate [the] hard work of candidates in campaigns.” Six awards were given out to candidates.

Best Slogan was awarded to Lexie Baynes for “Let Baynes take the Reins” whilst Jie Zhao won Best Social Media Campaign.

Alex Cooper claimed Best Design Work for his Taylor Swift Eras Tour campaign poster and Jess Watson received Most Supportive Campaign Team.

Aisha Akram won Most Lecture Call-Outs after visiting over 20 lecture halls and Amani Bates achieved Best Moment of the Week for his Bandeoke campaign performance.

The results of the elections were then announced after a 15-minute break. The candidates’ pictures were shown on screen, ahead of polling numbers and the winner’s name.

Results began with the seven elected NUS Representatives, who will work to “impact change at a national level.”

The first Exec role to be announced was City and Community Officer. Elliot Briffa will take over from Tesnime Safraou, promising to represent students as a “socialist City and Community Officer.” He announced that students were “fed up” and ended his speech with a call for “solidarity.”

Gabrielle Bailey was next to be announced as Officer for the Faculty of Biology, Medicine, and Health, accepting the role with a “thank you to everyone who voted.” Bailey replaces current officer Raluca-Elena Valecsu who was running for re-election this year.

Adil Ashraf was announced as Postgraduate Research Officer but was unable to attend the event.

The next winner to be announced was Aisha Akram, re-elected for a second term as Wellbeing and Liberation Officer. Akram told the audience “I hope that I can make you guys proud” after congratulating her fellow candidates.

Nahid Farzalizadeh was next revealed as the Faculty of Science and Engineering Officer, accepting the role with the statement “I’m so excited.”

The role of Activities and Culture Officer was awarded to Charlie Roberts. Roberts thanked departing officer Robbie Beale, as well as giving a “thank you to all the people who helped me out with my campaign.”

The crowd gave an audible noise as the voting figures were announced for the role with the highest voter turnout and officers in the running.

Katie Jackson was then re-elected for a second term as Humanities Officer, giving a nod to her current colleagues by telling them “I’m really going to miss you.”

The final result to be announced was for Lexie Baynes, who won the role of Union Affairs Officer. Baynes thanked the media groups, her supporters, and the current Exec team and told the audience “I’m so excited for what’s to come.”

The election results night concluded with a second speech from Beale and multiple rounds of applause for the incoming Exec Officers.

The eight Exec Officers posed for photographs on the stage at the end of the night. Incoming City and Community Officer Briffa came back on stage afterwards, waving a large red flag to chants of “Alerta, Alerta, Antifascista.”

When asked for a comment, Briffa said: “I’m excited to be elected a socialist SU officer. I look forward to ensuring students can collectively protect themselves against landlords, bosses, and marketed education.”

You can visit The Mancunion‘s Twitter page to view live reporting from LeadMCR results night.