This year’s university elections are over. The votes have been counted and the victorious candidates informed. This year’s turnout was 16% which is lower than previous years. It is assessed that the coronavirus is the primary reason for this.

2020.11.17 | Signe Schou

As of 1 February 2021, a new student member will be on the AU board. Mikkel Grøne from the Student Council will replace Ditte Marie Thomsen who will be leaving the board after two years as planned. Mikkel Grøne is a third-year law student and focuses on key issues such as improved well-being for students and a greener and more sustainable AU. The other student representative on the board, Hanna-Louise Schou Nielsen, was elected in 2019 and will be on the board until November 2021.

In addition to the new student member on the board, new representatives have joined the faculties’ academic councils, the local boards of studies and the PhD committees.

See the election results

More than 16% voted

The overall turnout was 16.26% which is somewhat lower than in 2019 when the turnout exceeded 21%. There may be several reasons for this, but Covid-19 is likely to play a significant role. With fewer students on campus, it has been more difficult for the candidates to get in contact with the voters – and despite a special effort which included written information to all students about the election of a student member to the board, it has not been enough to get more people to vote.

In total, there were 30 contested elections – i.e. elections in which several candidates try to get elected for a limited number of seats. The turnout varies significantly between the local elections. The highest turnout was 68.4% in the election to the board of studies at the Danish School of Education.

Uncontested elections, cancellations and drawing of lots 

111 elections were uncontested elections or ended in a draw. An uncontested election means that only one candidate list was submitted and therefore an election has not taken place. An election ends in a draw when no VIP or TAP candidates have been nominated for available seats. Unlike students, academic staff and technical/administrative staff have a duty to serve as members of collegial bodies, and if a list of candidates has not been submitted before the nomination deadline, the election committee will draw lots.

There were 14 cancelled elections. If no candidates are nominated for an election, no representatives will be elected. Read more about uncontested elections and cancellation of elections on the website.

Would you like to learn more?

Read more about the election at www.au.dk/valg or contact the Election Secretariat at valg@au.dk.