University of Limerick students have elected Eva McCormack as their next Student President following a closely contested vote counted on Thursday evening.
Ms. McCormack defeated Ignacio Castro after a tight race that went to a second count. In the first count, McCormack received 1,610 votes, just ahead of Castro on 1,579. Pratyush Jhunjhunwala secured 239 votes while 93 voters opted for Re-Open Nominations (RON).
Following the elimination of Jhunjhunwala and RON after the first round, their votes were redistributed. A total of 273 ballots were deemed non-transferable. On the second count, McCormack gained an additional 38 votes, bringing her final total to 1,648. Castro received 19 transfers, finishing with 1,598 votes.
McCormack will take over from current Student Life President Síofra Foley when she begins her term in September.
The election also saw several other positions filled across the Student Life Executive. Alan Sieprawski was elected Faculties Officer with 86.14% of the vote, while John Boix secured 85.43% support to become the next Student Council Chair.
In full-time officer roles, Cuán Hayes was elected Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion with 79.94% of the vote, succeeding Dearbhla Ryan. Jared Nadin was chosen as Vice President for Welfare with 82.68% support and will be the only current member of the Student Life team to continue in office.
In the race for Vice President Academic Affairs, one of the few contests with more than two candidates, Abbie Lappin won with 74.12% of the vote, ahead of Hannah Holmes on 20.71%.