Listen to the whole story here:
The nomination period for the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) opened on Monday at 10 a.m. and will close on Friday at 5 p.m.
The March election earlier this year was declared “null and void” after the TMSU board of directors determined the process had been compromised and could not guarantee a fair or transparent outcome.
OTR reached out to the Chief Returning Officer for comment about how things had changed between the last election and this, but did not hear back in time for publication.
This by-election will be the first official TMSU vote since the March 2025 election was voided, and if it proceeds smoothly, it will mark the first completed, valid election since the investigation began.
Muhammed Hanan is a third-year undergraduate student, nominating himself for President after serving as the president of the Undergraduate Science Society of Toronto Metropolitan University this year.
He says nominations take place exclusively online via a Google form, which was sent to all undergraduate students who expressed interest via email, by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO).
”Whoever was interested emailed the CRO telling them, ‘I’m interested’,” said Hanan. “And then the CRO got back telling us to give our phone numbers, our full name, what position we’re interested in.”
From there, he requires 50 signatures from fellow undergraduate students to receive his nomination.
According to sections 8.4 and 8.5 of the TMSU by-laws, anyone hoping to run in the upcoming election must also complete mandatory training on board governance and election rules before being nominated.
In late September, the TMSU called this by-election after a motion to defer until Spring 2026 failed. Under TMSU By-Law 6.13.1, “a by-election shall be held in the Fall term and initiated in the month of September.”
After the Sep. 29 motion to postpone an election failed, the interim co-executive directors were obliged to call the fall by-election the following day, on Sept. 30.
To be eligible for nomination, TMSU candidates must be current undergraduate members in good academic standing, complete mandatory election training and submit the required number of student signatures before the deadline, according to the union’s by-laws.
According to the TMSU website, The Elections Procedure Code was amended on Oct. 29, and section 5 of this document outlines nomination eligibility.
Emma Amodio is a second-year Masters of Journalism student and a reporter for On The Record, fall 2025.
No AI tools were used in the production of this piece.
