This story was updated on Feb. 11 at 9:08 p.m.
What was once a three-way contested race to be the next Residence Society (ResSoc) President nearly turned into an uncontested election.
The presidential race began as a three-way contest, but an unnamed candidate withdrew days before the debate, dwindling the pool down to John Bae, ArtSci ’26, and Amin Meghdadi, HealthSci ’26.
However, during the interview round of the election on Jan. 30, where candidates have a 30-minute interview with ResSoc’s Elections Team to answer questions regarding the responsibilities of the President’s role, Meghdadi was initially deemed ineligible to run. According to ResSoc’s nomination package, “ineligibility is limited to a narrow set of circumstances, including failure to meet the eligibility requirements listed above, a criminal record, or a history of nontrivial conduct infractions in residence.”
In accordance with the Society’s bylaw, Meghdadi put in an appeal to the Residence Society’s Constitutional Affairs and Ethics Committee (CAEC), which makes all final decisions on eligibility. Candidates deemed ineligible have 24 hours to make an appeal to the committee.
When The Journal asked about the reason for Meghdadi’s initial disqualification and the CAEC hearing, Chief Electoral Officer Simarjeet Singh, ArtSci ’26, didn’t feel comfortable sharing the details due to privacy reasons.
A candidacy reconsideration meeting with the election team, Meghdadi, and current ResSoc President Allen Wu, took place at 4 p.m. prior to the All Candidates Debate scheduled later that evening at 7 p.m. At this time, Meghdadi was reinstated as a candidate and permitted to run. The debate was then pushed back to 8:30 p.m. and concluded at 11 p.m. The three parties reconvened after to discuss Meghdadi’s candidacy.
In an interview with The Journal on Feb. 11, Meghdadi explained that while he wasn’t comfortable sharing the full details of the situation, he felt that the candidate interview, which initially disqualified him, didn’t accommodate his health needs resulting from a varsity-related injury. However, through his appeal and the evidence he provided, he was later deemed qualified.
“The election team did a good job through the appeal process. They were very understanding to it [health circumstances], and after my health need had been accommodated, they found me eligible to run. I want to emphasize how students empowered me through this process,” Meghdadi said in an interview with The Journal.
Voting for ResSoc candidates closes at 11:59 p.m tonight.
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