GCTU Alumni Elections: Candidates Ballot And Read Manifestos

The GCTU Alumni Association has held a balloting and manifesto reading event for candidates vying for positions on the Executive Committee of the association. 

The event which was held on October 5, 2023, at the Florence Onny Auditorium, is part of activities towards the election of substantive executives for the association. 

The President of the GCTU Alumni Association, Eng. Mark Amoamah who also Chaired the event, underscored the importance of Alumni to the growth and development of universities across the world. He stated that, the institution has gone through transformation and is now a fully-fledged University, urging the Alumni to help “project and lift the image of GCTU.”

Eng. Amoamah also noted that, the event was organized to give a platform to the candidates vying for various positions to share their programmes and visions for the association by presenting their manifestos. 

Earlier, the Director of University Relations and Co-chairperson of the event, Dr. Nusrat-Jahan Abubakar, briefly expressed her excitement at the prospect of having the first substantive executives to take over the mantle of leadership in the association and steer it towards growth and prosperity. She said she was honoured and privileged as a proud alumnus, to be part of this process, the first of its kind in GCTU. 

Dr. Abubakar observed that, the alumni association had now become vibrant with many alumni registering to take part in the upcoming election. She appealed to all the alumni to come on board to support the association. She expressed her profound gratitude to the candidates for availing themselves to be elected to serve the association in the upcoming election. 

The event which was also carried live on zoom, was characterized by loud chanting and applause from the audience as their preferred candidates mounted the podium to either ballot for positions on the ballot paper or present their manifestos. 

A total of 10 candidates filed to contest for positions in five slots namely president, vice president, secretary, organizing secretary and assistant organizing secretary. The presidential slot which is the most keenly contested has five candidates vying to be elected. The vice-presidential slot has two while the secretary slot has an unopposed candidate. Two candidates are contesting for the organizing secretary slot. The assistant organizing secretary slot is vacant. 

The Chairman, Eng. Amoamah, in his closing remarks declared campaigning open. He however, cautioned decorum and civility to ensure a free, fair and transparent election. He lauded the efforts of the elections committee so far for superintending a fair process that has given equal opportunity to the contestants. 

No date has yet been set for voting, but the President of the Association said, “the election committee is doing due diligence in compiling a credible voters register to have a free and fair election, and a date will soon be set for voting to take place”. He added that voting would be done electronically.