”I should not ask you to save democracy, but that would be nice” – Results of AYY’s Representative Council elections bring changes to group seats
Aalto University Student Union’s Representative Council elections of 2019 were held on 28 Oct−5 Nov. In the elections, the Representative Council of 45 members was elected. The Representative Council exercises the highest decision-making power in the Student Union. The Representative Council decides on the Student Union strategy, values, rules, budgets, policy papers and the budget of up to EUR 17 million in resource planning at the group level.
There was a total of 293 candidates, representing a 7% increase over the 2017 elections. Candidates were part of 10 different electoral alliances, plus one candidate who did not belong to any electoral alliance. The polling percentage decreased slightly to 33.39% from 33.67% in the last elections.
The end of the elections was celebrated in the election coverage event with students of business at Saha. The audience waited anxiously for the results until the end, as there would be changes to the number of seats in the representative groups. AYY’s Central Election Committee, including Chair Petteri Heliste, came to present the results.
Heliste told the audience that he was particularly pleased with the rise in the number of candidates: many of Finland’s largest student unions have seen a drop in the number of candidates, while in AYY there was a slight increase in these elections. Heliste believes this reflects the broader difficulties of democracy. ”I should not ask you to save democracy, but that would be nice,” Heliste challenges the new representatives.
The winners of the Representative Council elections include the Greener Aalto group, which tripled its seats compared to the previous elections. Pro Arte and Kylterirengas also increased their seats by one.
| Kylterirengas | 15 seats (+1) |
| Greener Aalto | 6 seats (+4) |
| LUOVA | 4 seats (-) |
| SCIsma | 4 seats (-3) |
| CHEM | 3 seats (-1) |
| Våga (ent. Polytekarna) | 3 seats (-1) |
| Pro Arte | 3 seats (+1) |
| Voltti | 3 seats (-1) |
| Luja | 2 seats (-1) |
| Vapaus Valita - Freedom to Choose | 2 seats (-) |
| ARTS | 21,3% |
| BIZ | 47,0% |
| CHEM | 41,7% |
| ELEC | 26,6% |
| ENG | 30,3% |
| SCI | 33,6% |
More information:
Annika Mällinen
Read more news
Ecological sustainability policy has been updated – AYY transitions to a plant-based policy
Aalto University Student Union (AYY) has updated its ecological sustainability policy, which supports AYY’s daily operations. The new document directs AYY to serve plant-based food and drinks at its events. In the future, food waste will be minimised, and 30 percent of air and ship travel costs will be offset towards environmental activities.
AYY is taking steps to improve equity in its operations – new equity plan approved by RepCo
Aalto University Student Union has an equity plan, first in AYY’s history, that was approved in the Representative Council meeting on 21.11.2024. Equity plan will guide AYY towards more accessible and inclusive ways for our students to participate in AYY’s events and operations.
Good news for residents in shared apartments: Here’s how you can receive your own housing allowance while living in a friends’ apartment!
A joint liability rental agreement may affect the housing allowance, as Kela typically grants only one housing allowance for a shared household, which is influenced by the income of both residents. However, residents in friends’ apartments may receive separate housing allowances if Kela reviews them as separate households. This requires tenants with a joint liability rental agreement to draft a mutual possession agreement for the apartment and submit it as an appendix with their housing allowance application to Kela. Tenants draft the possession agreement by themselves.