The current rector of Aberdeen University was left “gobsmacked” after allegations made against her and her campaign contributed to the annulment of the election for the prestigious post.
Maggie Chapman, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, took to social media to explain her side of the argument.
In a post on Facebook, Ms Chapman described her and her team’s shock when the decision was taken to annul the election, 45 minutes before the results were due to be revealed.
She said: “My campaign team and I turned up just before six. None of the other three candidates/campaign teams were there. We were told to wait. Then, we were told by the Returning Officer that he had decided to annul the elections, not release the results, and that he would not take any questions.”
She went on to provide documentation including her closing statement at the appeal hearing, which highlighted what she believed to be an unfair decision:
“It is against natural justice to annul an election where the winning candidate’s ‘breaches of the rules’ are entirely unevidenced.”
The university’s rectorial elections were due to be concluded on November 16, with Ms Chapman standing against Andrew Bowie, MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, Angus Hepburn, student at Aberdeen University and singer Fiona Kennedy.
However, after several complaints were lodged including over the tearing down of campaign posters and “troubling graffiti” found in the university library, the decision was taken to invalidate the election on the basis of “breaches to electoral rules”.
Aberdeen University have stated that the results of the election will not be divulged, and that the timing of a new election will follow in due course.
