At 9.00pm BST, Oxford SU announced that Anvee Bhutani has won the presidential by-election. 2506 votes were cast.
Eleven candidates stood in this term’s by-election, with two of these candidates having taken part in the first presidential election.
Anvee Bhutani, current Co-Chair Campaign for Racial Awareness and Equality (CRAE) at Oxford SU, used her manifesto to detail priorities of campaigning for the implementation of the Oxford living wage, delinking welfare services and disciplinary action, and diversifying the curriculum.
The result comes after a controversial initial presidential election, in which Rashmi Samant was elected, before being forced to step down after backlash against comments made on social media. The election made national headlines in India, and the Indian External Affairs minister, in response to the pressure placed on Samant to resign, said, “we can’t turn our eyes away from racism”, and “we will take up such matters with great candour when required.”
Anvee Bhutani told The Blue: “Oxford has historically been a place for the white elite to attend University, so to even be here feels like a great honour. I never imagined I’d one day be standing for the Presidency of the SU and have the chance to represent the entire student body and I feel so humbled to have won.
The SU fundamentally needs to be a union that fights for students’ rights and I’m really excited to have run on a platform to bring reform to four key areas: access and academics, community affairs, welfare and mental health, and societies and clubs. I want the SU to go back to being a hub that supports students and provides them with the resources they need.
I’d genuinely like to extend a massive thank you to everyone to voted for me. I’m so excited for where I’ll take things with the other Sabbatical officers this year and I am eternally grateful for your support.”
This article was updated at 10.09am on Friday to include Anvee Bhutani’s statement.